Tech Review – May 2013: New Products for the Imaging Industry

Tabletop Laser Imager from Carestream

The new Dryview 5950 Laser Imaging System from Carestream, Rochester, NY, produces 508 pixels-per-inch output for general radiology and mammography. The new imager supports efficient printing and time-saving film cartridges. It also delivers an enhanced quality control system for mammography images with a built-in densitometer that produces test prints and displays data needed to support mammography quality control charting, which can eliminate the need for an external densitometer. The Dryview 5950 offers DICOM connectivity and can be used to output images from a PACS network or from any DICOM modality. The laser imager will offer two film cartridges online and will support multiple film sizes. The imager can output up to 110 films per hour for 8-inch by 10-inch images.   

www.carestream.com; (888) 777-2072

 

Improved X-Ray Tube and Detector Technology from Siemens

The Artis Q and Artis Q.zen from Siemens Healthcare, Malvern, Pa, feature new x-ray tube and detector technology designed to improve minimally invasive therapy of diseases such as coronary artery disease, stroke, and cancer. The new x-ray tube can help physicians identify small vessels up to 70% more effectively than conventional x-ray tube technology. The Artis Q.zen combines this x-ray source with a new detector technology that supports interventional imaging in ultra-low-dose. In lieu of the coiled filaments, Siemens uses second-generation flat emitter technology. The Artis Q and Artis Q.zen systems also possess software applications designed to improve interventional imaging. For example, the new integrated intravascular ultrasound map application automatically and precisely co-registers IVUS images and angiography images, adding detailed data such as vessel, lumen, and wall structure.

www.medical.siemens.com;  (888) 826-9702.

 

Live Image-Guidance Tool from Philips

Royal Philips Electronics, Andover, Mass, has received 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its EchoNavigator live image-guidance tool. This technology helps interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons to perform minimally invasive structural heart disease repairs by providing an intelligently integrated view of live x-ray and 3D ultrasound images. Philips developed the EchoNavigator in response to an upward trend in the use of both x-ray imaging and 3D cardiac ultrasound imaging during structural heart disease procedures. During such procedures, ultrasound imaging provides insights into the soft tissue anatomy of the heart, while x-ray imaging has particular strengths in visualizing catheters and heart implants.   

www.healthcare.philips.com; (800) 229-6417

 

Advanced Diagnostic Viewing from Mach7 and Medical Insight

A new partnership in health care technology pairs imaging workflow capabilities with advanced diagnostic viewing. Mach7 Technologies, Burlington, Vt, a provider of enterprise clinical imaging management solutions, and Medical Insight, Chicago, will together allow clinicians to launch images from Keystone Suite using the EasyViz Enterprise Web imaging viewer. Mach7’s flagship solution, Keystone Suite, lets health care enterprises own, share, and access all medical imaging data, regardless of source or specialty. The enterprise clinical imaging platform was designed to manage all aspects of a patient’s continuum of care. Clinicians can utilize the platform for vendor neutral archiving, intelligent routing and prefetching of relevant images, and mobile imaging with complete image management.

 www.mach7t.com; (888) 876-2247

www.medical-insight.com; (888) 625-4414

 

Single-Use Colonoscope from Invendo Medical

Invendo Medical, New York, announced that the company entered the US market by installing systems at NYU’s Langone Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Centers. The invendoscope SC20 is a single-use colonoscope with a working channel. It is neither pushed nor pulled, but instead uses computer-assisted gentle-drive technology, reducing forces on the colon wall. The electrohydraulic deflection mechanism of the endoscope tip obviates the need to use Bowden cables, maintaining flexibility. All endoscope functions including forward and backward driving, deflection of endoscope tip, rinsing, suction, insufflation, and recording of images are controlled via a simple handheld device.

www.invendo-medical.com; (516) 992-3479

 

Vein Viewing System from AccuVein

AccuVein Inc, Huntington, NY, launched the AccuVein AV400 vein viewing system, the next generation of AccuVein’s vein illumination device, which locates veins by displaying a map of the patient’s vasculature directly on the surface of the skin. AccuVein vein illumination has been shown to reduce the need for multiple needle sticks. The AccuVein AV400 is more intuitive than its predecessors, as operators can hold it in any direction over the skin’s surface. The AV400 can find veins up to 10 mm deep, whether the veins are large or small. A new inverse mode helps highlight small veins. Weighing less than 10 ounces, the handheld device uses point-and-click technology. With a range of hands-free options, it can quickly switch between a hand-held and hands-free mode.

www.accuvein.com; (816) 997-9400