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Sterilized Disposable Surgical Drape
A new surgical drape from AADCO Medical Inc (Randolph, Vt) aims to address the risks associated with high-level scattered radiation doses experienced by physicians who perform x-ray fluoroscopy. The X-Drape, made from proprietary nonleaded composite-radiation?absorbing material called X-Ban, can reduce scatter radiation up to 98%. It is sterilized and disposable, making it ideal for use in the surgical arena. “This solution has drawn interest internationally,” AADCO President Robert L. Marchione said in a press release. “It is not only a more effective way for medical professionals to prevent dangerous levels of radiation exposure, but this new device also allows them to do so while not adversely impacting their ability to be effective and efficient in performing life-saving procedures.”
American Medical Sales Inc (AMS of Hawthorne, Calif) recently announced several upgrades to its line of PACS products for small facilities. “Our PACS-1M complete solution for the one-modality office will now hold the equivalent of 25,000 14- x 17-inch images,” J. Greg Perry, vice president of sales and marketing at AMS, said in a press release. “This has increased from its original capacity of 10,000 images.” In addition, the company’s PRINCE system, which already featured an automated CD burner and labeler, now holds 50,000 images, doubling its capacity. AMS also has introduced a new product to its PACS-in-a-BOX offerings, the PACS-3M, which includes licenses to place “electronic viewboxes” throughout a facility and can be upgraded to allow distribution of images over the Internet. It also has the capacity for 50,000 14- x 17-inch images. Shown here is the PACS-1M solution.
Enhancements to Dosimetry Package for Radiation Ocology CR
The dosimetry package to the radiation oncology CR system from Kodak Health Imaging (Rochester, NY) has recently been enhanced with a new tool, which equips physicists to check dose uniformity in a focused area of the quality assurance (QA) image. “Conducting QA testing with the Kodak 2000RT CR Plus system offers many advantages: The system produces a high-resolution image in seconds, and it eliminates the need for film processing and the artifacts that can occur,” Greg Gibbs, a medical physicist at Colorado Associates in Medical Physics (Colorado Springs, Colo), said in a press release. Gibbs’ facility tested the package. “The digital image file also is much easier to store, and it can be transmitted directly to our analysis software.” Kodak’s dosimetry package also now features improved communications abilities, allowing facilities to interface QA, portal, verification, and simulation images with DICOM-compatible treatment planning, image management, or QA systems along with PACS or digital archives.
Media Studio Graz (Graz, Austria) recently announced the availability of its VoluMedic enhancement to the award-winning LightWave3D software from NewTek Inc (San Antonio). VoluMedic allows users to turn a sequence of images into a volumetric object that can then be rendered and manipulated. “We are very excited about finally releasing VoluMedic to the public,” Elmar Moelzer, product developer at Media Studio, said in a press release. “This software represents more than 4 years of research and development from a team of programmers, doctors, and 3D artists.” VoluMedic also offers real-time hardware volume rendering for interactive previewing and scene setup, as well as functions for import and processing of volumetric data and tools to create geometry from volumetric objects. Safe Harbor Computers (Waukesha, Wis) is the North American distributor of VoluMedic.
ONI Medical Systems Inc (Wilmington, Mass) offers the MSK Extreme, a 1-Tesla dedicated-purpose MRI system for extremity imaging that recently was installed at St Mary’s Hospital (Leonardtown, Md). “Recognizing that the image quality of the MSK Extreme was equal to any whole-body 1T scanner, size and space were a major consideration in the selection of the unit,” Sheila Harrison, RT, CRA, director of imaging and cardiology services at St Mary’s, said in a press release. “And because of the fast throughput, expected to be 30 minutes per case, patients will not have to wait days for an appointment.” The MSK Extreme system boasts a chair-based testing experience, enclosing only the extremity in question with the magnet; it uses standard commercial electrical connections and operates quietly. The MSK Extreme can be installed in as little as 165 square feet.
