News Story

Infrastructure and Security Offerings from IBM

IBM (Armonk, NY) offers the IBM Express Storage Platform for Medical Imaging. The affordable, flexible, prepackaged storage solution?designed for small to mid-size facilities?works in conjunction with a PACS to store, retrieve, and protect data in DICOM format. The solution is delivered and installed as an integrated storage platform with each configuration providing upgrade options for increased storage capacity, including IBM xSeries servers featuring Intel Xeon processors, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager, IBM TotalStorage systems, and IBM BladeCenter server. Also, the solution can be attached to a facility’s current IP network to provide scalable storage growth.

Web: ? www.ibm.com
Phone: (800) IBM-4YOU

Radiology Information System from Medweb

Medweb Dashboard, a new RIS from Medweb (San Francisco), enables radiologists in multiple locations to effectively manage their workloads between multiple PACS and HIS/RIS solutions from a variety of vendors. The solution provides a virtual reading room that automatically loads, assigns, and reassigns cases to radiologists based on their workload (versus their location), with the option to route exams based on such rules as a radiologist’s state licensure, hospital privileges, subspecialty, or real-time workload balance. Medweb Dashboard enables image management, dictation, transcription, and reporting; optional features include voice recognition and billing. The system also tracks statistics and turnaround times, automates reassignment of studies within a designated time frame, and prioritizes stat exams as part of the basic workflow. Also included is a private, encrypted instant-messaging system for faster collaboration between radiologists.

Web: ? www.medweb.com
Phone: (800) 8-MEDWEB

Results of EMR Patient Survey from PatientView

The government loves them and so do many facilities, but have you ever wondered how patients’ feel about EMRs? PatientView (London) has published a global survey of patients’ attitudes toward EMRs. The survey was taken in October and November 2005 and is of more than 200 patients from around the world, including the United States (44%), England (23%), other European countries (20%), Australia (6%), Canada (3%), and other countries (3%). The report is made up of 32 main pages reviewing the results; an 84-page appendix, 45 pages of which include data in the form of charts and figures; and 32 pages of comments from survey-takers.

Web: ? www.patient-view.com
Phone: 0044-(0)1547-520-965

4MP Color Diagnostic Imaging Display from Planar

Planar Systems Inc (Beaverton, Ore) has released the Dome EX line of medically certified, 4-megapixel (MP) color diagnostic displays. Designed for such areas as radiology, cardiology, nuclear medicine, and PET/CT, the Dome E4c (shown here) features a wide-screen, 16:9 format that simplifies comparison studies by eliminating the image split associated with dual-head monitors, providing more screen space for multiple images. It also features 1,786 unique shades of gray, 330 cd/m² typical brightness, and a 600:1 contrast ratio. The E4c also can display more than 90% of a CR image without the need to scale it down, and can show 15 full-size 512 x 512 color and grayscale images at the same time. The Dome EX line is DICOM-calibrated, features Planar’s Dome DA4 hardware architecture, and is compatible with Dome CXtra and Dome Dashboard software. Other displays in the line include the E3c, E2c, E5, E3, and E2.

Web: ? www.planar.com
Phone: (866) 475-2627

Bandwidth-Usage Solution from RamSoft

RamSoft Inc (Toronto) says that its new PowerCache solution will change the way radiology networks handle images by reducing expensive network-bandwidth usage. Using the company’s patent-pending technology, image datasets are downloaded only once, even if significant changes are made after acquisition. By replacing costly T1 lines at each facility with DSL or cable, the savings can be significant. And once the solution is installed at a referring physician’s practice, those physicians no longer have to wait for images to download. PowerCache is ideal for any location where more than one workstation is used to view images.

Web: ? www.ramsoft.biz
Phone: (888) 343-9146

Ultrasound Test Device from Sonora Medical

New from Sonora Medical Systems (Longmont, Colo) is the MagicNickel, a handheld, battery-operated tool designed to test the operation of both the ultrasound probe and the ultrasound system. Since the tool is vendor neutral, it can test any electronic-array transducer and ultrasound-system combination. According to G. Wayne Moore, president and CEO of Sonora Medical, “The MagicNickel was created in response to our customers wanting a device small enough to carry in their pocket yet powerful enough to rigorously test the viability of the ultrasound probe and system.”

Web: ? www.4sonora.com
Phone: (888) 476-6672