Swissray shows five new products, including direct digital fluoroscopy

By Steve Wagner

Following up on its aggressive showing last year, Swissray International unveiled several products during the 2000 RSNA show last month, including the ddRModulaire and the work-in-progress ddRFluoroscopy system. In all, five products were introduced.

Last year, Swissray introduced its ddRCombi and ddRChest systems. Those followed the introduction of the company's flagship ddRMulti system in the mid-1990s.

Designed for affordability, the ddRModulaire was revealed during a news conference. Its compact design features an overlapping quad-charge-coupled device detector and a free-swinging isocentric arm that facilitates fast positioning.

"This will do for direct digital radiography what cellular has done for communications," said John Monahan, national accounts manager for Swissray America. "In most cases, the investment in this system will be returned in less than two years."

The ddRModulaire is essentially an entry-level system for buyers who have limited space and capital. The system's cost is comparable to retrofits offered by competing firms, Swissray said.

Unlike the ddrModulaire, ddRFluoroscopy is a work-in-progress, with full-motion imaging designed to complement high-resolution radiographic images. The system is being touted as the first completely digital, direct digital radiography fluoroscopy unit, providing users with digital acquisition, processing, output, and display, said Dr. Leonard Berliner, medical director for Swissray International.

Also unveiled were:

• Two patient tables. The IGS2000 is a pedestal-based table with high positioning flexibility, and the IGS1000 offers a four-way floating top.

• Swissray's OrthoVision package of clinical software tools, which is designed for orthopedic radiologists. The package facilitates leg-length studies and full-length spine imaging for scoliosis evaluation.

Swissray also announced that DIANAssociates, a telemedicine service provider based in Maryland, has ordered 10 direct digital

radiography systems for tuberculosis screening at 10 U.S. sites. n