Shimadzu Corporation Announces Partnership to Sell Touchless Image-Control Solution

Diagnostic medical imaging systems company Shimadzu Corporation announced Monday that its subsidiary Shimadzu Medical Systems USA signed a one-year renewable agreement with Canadian company NZ Technologies to market the TIPSO AirPad® in the U.S. market.

TIPSO technology is largely used in interventional radiology procedures, and, according to a company press release, the AirPad will let providers move images during a procedure without actually touching them. Limiting contact will safeguard sterility as operators won’t need to scrub in and out in order to consult images.

AirPad is a palm-sized, portable, wireless solution that offers multimodal imaging control that uses finger taps and twirls to manage image orientation and adjustments, according to the press release. It sits as a mouse and keyboard at the bedside while a representation of a hand and a menu pops up on the system monitor display. 

The AirPad connects to any workstation via a USB dongle without interfacing with the hospital networking or any type of transfer or storage of patient data, helping to maintain HIPAA compliance. By providing ready-access to live and historical images, the technology could reduce the need for additional scans, as well as decrease operative time, the company said.