Even before the 90th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA of Oakbrook, Ill) concluded on December 2, we knew what to expect-somewhat. Long lines at Starbucks, for instance, in which 95% of those waiting for that morning or afternoon latte were wishing they had been in on the IPO. And the seemingly endless walking to, from, and in the McCormick Place Conference Center. (Although, let’s face it: we could all use the exercise after our Thanksgiving indiscretions.)
But this year, as with every year, the world’s largest medical conference was the place to see what’s new and for learning about advancements in radiologic technology, products, and research. Medical Imaging magazine was there to capture it, so whether you missed all or only part of the show, here are some highlights.
What’s the Buzz?
Molecular imaging. Digitalization. Radiology information systems. Ergonomics. Workflow. These were some of the key words that echoed around the show floor at this year’s RSNA. The innovations showcased involved much more than improvement in image quality. Manufacturers appear to be focusing on features that will enable technologists and radiologists to function more efficiently and comfortably, and to tie components and systems together so that the entire healthcare team can communicate and share data more easily.
In fact, with its exhibits, Philips Medical Systems (Andover, Mass) emphasized the concept of accomplishing more with less stress. The company’s theme, “sense and simplicity,” is based on the notion that no matter how complex technology might be, it should be executed with ease. As Arne Helbig, international marketing manager of Philips Medical, noted, “The goal is to achieve full-scale simplicity in an intensive workflow environment.”
Essential to that simplicity is creating centralized data storage. “The fragmented islands of storage that we have right now are difficult to manage,” said Robert Salmon, manager of public relations for Eastman Kodak Co’s Health Imaging Group (Rochester, NY), whose company recently implemented one archive for more than 60 hospitals in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service. A similar program is now under way in Paris. An important aspect of storage programs is the management of obsolescence, he noted, so that data can be put into new systems easily.
At McKesson Information Solutions (Alpharetta, Ga), the emphasis was on functionality, said Joseph D. Biegel, VP of product management with McKesson’s Medical Imaging Group. “We recognized that, as data volumes go up, physicians are tasked with more images,” he said. “As a result, we have built technologies that enable physicians to look at broad perspectives more easily and to navigate through large studies without delay. With fast IT technologies, the workflow is smoother.” Another aspect of virtual image management tackled by McKesson: the merging of PET and CT data in one window in a PACS study list. “This is an example of an implementation solution with use of sophisticated configuration tools,” Biegel noted.
Agfa HealthCare (Ridgefield Park, NJ) is employing what it calls “integrated thinking” to the task of going digital, a step that many facilities are facing with dread. The company has instituted a program that will assume a good portion of the financial and operational risks by setting the cost of supplies and services for 5 years. This will enable transformation to a digital PACS environment with little or no capital expenditure. The company reports that in using its integrated RIS/PACS program, facilities have noted significant improvement in levels of patient, technologist, and radiologist satisfaction.
PACS upgrades, such as integrated dictation with voice recognition and integration of clinical information, also are important to workflow improvement, noted Jonathan L. Mates, MD, in a presentation about research at the University of Pittsburgh’s Division of Radiology Informatics. The researchers concluded that such integrations enabled radiologists to spend their time on the most important workflow task: reading images.
Molecular imaging, one of the newest frontiers for radiology, has a role not just in diagnostics but also in the development of efficacious, low-cost pharmaceuticals. In an address in the Arie Crown Theater, the co-inventor of the PET scanner, Michael E. Phelps, PhD, discussed how PET, MR, and CT are being used in the search for the molecular basis of disease and for pharmaceutical applications. Results of a survey conducted by the RSNA indicated that one of every six RSNA members who responded performs molecular imaging. According to the survey team, that number is expected to nearly double in the future.
What Else is New?
Innovations were abundant on the RSNA technology show floor. Here’s just a sampling of new products, technologies, and solutions.
AFC Industries Inc (College Point, NY). A leading designer and manufacturer of medical and radiology reading room furnishings, AFC displayed its new Ergo Tier Cart and the Dual Tier Cart at RSNA. The former has protractable and retractable arms and is ideal for clinical settings and multitasking doctors who do not sit often. The latter can be configured in sitting and standing positions, with four preset positions. Both feature modular accessories and shelves. AFC offers free site analysis and 3-D space-planning drawings.
Agfa HealthCare. “Agfa’s 15-year experience in PACS is reflected in the full-featured, fully integrated solutions introduced at this year’s RSNA,” said Ray Russell, executive director of marketing for Agfa HealthCare. Products launched on the technology floor included the Impax Web1000 5.0 ES, which provides synchronized and secure access to clinical results anywhere, any time. It offers fast log-ins and image display speeds as well as greater memory capacity. Also new is the Impax ES for Orthopedics tool set with an Orthopedics Spine Module for digital planning of spinal surgeries involving hardware. The workstation is an open system with the ability to import, display, and archive DICOM images and features a library of 12,000 templates from 42 manufacturers. The Impax MA 3000 mammography diagnostic display station is a digital solution to streamline workflow and leverage legacy equipment, enabling improved delivery of patient care.
American Teleradiology Nighthawks (ATN of Edgewater, Md). CEO Doug Karr said that ATN has “experienced phenomenal growth in the past year” to now be among the four leading teleradiology companies. The solely US-based company has made investments in its infrastructure to poise it for continued growth. “Because of our call service, IT, and various teams, we are here and ready to partner with local communities,” Karr said. “We have the leadership and resources to serve as a national center of reference for clients.”
CodeRyte (Bethesda, Md). At RSNA, the company announced the addition of four clients within the previous 6 weeks, reflective of CodeRyte’s strong growth. “Industry leaders are choosing us for our established history of customer service, our ability to integrate and enhance existing technologies, our guarantee of compliance with industry regulations, and our proof of improved accuracy and higher accurate reimbursements,” said CodeRyte CEO Andy Kapit. The company’s technology automates and facilitates the medical coding process through a combination of machine translation, natural language processing, statistics, clinical expertise, and other relevant workflow and Web-enabled technologies.
Dynamic Imaging Inc (Allendale, NJ). Jeff Carson, director of marketing for Dynamic Imaging, reported that the company’s high-end postprocessing products are “truly Web driven and Web optimized.” Its storage solutions are customizable by age, location, and modality. They also feature business continuity such that if the network is down, the systems function as freestanding entities and their databases can be reconciled later.
EDDA Technology Inc (Princeton Junction, NJ). EDDA announced the debut of the IQQA-chest at RSNA. Recently cleared by the FDA, IQQA-chest is the first real-time interactive diagnostic analysis system offering tools for identification and quantification of nodules detected with projection chest radiography. The company is a clinical computer solutions provider that designs, patents, develops, and markets proprietary software systems for optimal clinical workflow.
Fischer Imaging (Denver). The findings of research with Fischer Imaging’s SenoScan, reported at RSNA, indicate that use of this digital mammography system reduced rates of recall for additional imaging by 40%. “This not only increased our overall practice efficiency, it has dramatically increased time available for radiologists to perform diagnostic workups of symptomatic patients,” reported researcher Nancy Wilson, MD, director of mammography at Sarasota Memorial Hospital Breast Center (Florida). Fischer Imaging is the oldest manufacturer of X-ray imaging devices in the United States.
GE Healthcare (Waukesha, Wis). GE Healthcare announced that its volume CT scanner, the LightSpeed VCT, offers the fastest volume imaging in the world, achieving true volume scanning of the heart in just five beats. The scanner was a Popular Science magazine selection for “The Best of What’s New in Technology for 2004.” GE Healthcare also announced that it has developed the world’s first high-definition MR (HDMR) system, providing image clarity despite patient motion. The company also showcased its Revolution digital detector system (which has lung, cardiac, vascular, and mammography applications), the Interventional Suite (featuring the OEC 9800 MD digital motorized mobile imaging system, ceiling-supported monitors, four-way floating imaging tables, and contrast injectors), and the Logiq Book XP compact ultrasound system (which is lightweight and will enable scanning even in trauma and surgical settings).
Guardian Technologies International Inc (Dulles, Va). A leading supplier of healthcare and homeland security imaging systems software, Guardian Healthcare Systems (part of Guardian Technologies) announced the US launch of its integrated RIS/PACS solution. The Web-based technology, FlowPoint, lets healthcare enterprises combine all of a patient’s radiology data and images into one digital record, enabling more accurate diagnoses and circumventing medical errors due to insufficient health data. “Guardian demystifies PACS and can interface with many different viewers, from Agfa, Toshiba, and smaller manufacturers,” said Martin Richards, VP of European operations for Guardian Healthcare Systems. “We can help the customer run a business more efficiently without having to pay the Earth for it.”
Hologic Inc (Bedford, Mass). Jim Culley, PhD, marketing manager for Hologic, highlighted the company’s work in progress on breast tomosynthesis, which has the goal of reducing or eliminating the problems of dense and overlapping tissue. The 3-D imaging technology is under investigation at four hospitals in the United States and recently earned Hologic the Frost & Sullivan 2004 Technology Leadership of the Year Award in Women’s Health Diagnostics for Breast Cancer. Investigators hope the technology will allow reduction of breast compression, improved diagnostic and screening accuracy, 3-D lesion localization, and contrast-enhanced 3-D imaging, yet still be cost-effective for outpatient clinics. Hologic’s focus on women’s health reflects its quest for total solutions in women’s health imaging.
Imaging Dynamics Co (IDC of Calgary, Alberta). IDC showcased its full line of Xplorer DR systems at RSNA. The company has rapidly expanded its installations of these systems throughout the United States and internationally in the past year, with the IDC Xplorer 1800 (launched in 2003) and the newly launched Xplorer 1600 accounting for the majority of sales. The patented IDC technology is CCD-based and provides an affordable, high-resolution digital capture device that eliminates the need for film in general radiographic imaging.
InSiteOne Inc (Wallingford, Conn). InSiteOne announced record growth for 2004 and a new product, InDex Recovery Plus, for disaster recovery of medical data, including the databases that drive PACS and HIS/RIS systems. The system integrates with any PACS or modality as well as hospital networks and information systems. InSiteOne is a provider of integrated on-site and off-site secure DICOM storage.
McKesson. The company unveiled a new PACS workstation, the latest version of the Horizon Rad Station, designed to enable radiologists and referring physicians to keep pace with the constant advance of diagnostic technologies. “It sets the new standard for image display, speed, and flexibility,” explained Loren Buysman, senior VP of imaging and technology solutions at McKesson. The product is a component of the Horizon Radiology integrated RIS/PACS suite, which includes image management, navigation, information management, workflow automation, and digitization of patient records.
Medicsight (London). Medicsight has announced that its advanced imaging analysis software products will be incorporated in the product offerings of Agfa, Viatronix Inc (Stony Brook, NY), and ViTAL Images Inc (Plymouth, Minn). The three companies demonstrated the Medicsight software at their own booths during RSNA. Medicsight recently unveiled Heart Screen, an update to the MedicHeart 1.0 heart-imaging software. The product features a newly designed user interface and helps identify and quantify coronary artery calcification.
Mercury Computer Systems Inc (Chelmsford, Mass). The company introduced a portfolio of advanced 3-D imaging products and services. Mercury demonstrated its new life sciences solutions, including the latest acceleration technology, scalable imaging servers, highly optimized software components, and turnkey medical workstation software. Its XB Series systems leverage the power of multiple processors and acceleration boards within the smallest possible footprint and are optimized for 3-D visualization applications.
Merge eFilm (Milwaukee). The mantra at Merge eFilm is “accelerating productivity,” said Beth Frost-Johnson, senior VP of marketing and strategic planning for Merge eFilm. The company’s fully integrated Fusion RIS/PACS software solution ensures a seamless workflow and is designed to grow with a facility, phasing in modular functionality. Also of note: Merge eFilm recently acquired AccuImage Diagnostics Corp (South San Francisco, Calif).
MR Instruments Inc (Minneapolis). The company introduced one of the industry’s first 3 Tesla (3T) transverse electromagnetic (TEM) head coils for MR imaging at RSNA. The TEM 3000 provides faster study acquisition, a higher level of detail, and greater diagnostic certainty than conventional 3T coil technology. Because the coil requires about 15% less power, it overcomes safety concerns related to overheating of patients, and it produces significantly better images at higher field strengths. “We’ve always had a lot of interest from the research community,” said Kevin Sundquist, president and COO of MR Instruments, “and our huge technologic investments have become validated by their recognition of its value.”
OREX Computed Radiography (Auburndale, Mass). According to Hillel Bachrach, president and CEO of Orex, the company is “young, aggressive, and agile. We have a faster technology-development cycle and can tailor our offerings to particular needs. This is how we cater to the market.” In addition, he said that the image quality of Orex’s CR scanner is as good as or better than that of others on the market. “We don’t compromise with image quality,” Bachrach noted.
Philips Medical. The centerpiece of Philips Medical’s RSNA technology exhibit, the Ambient Experience Pavilion, had quite a bit of traffic. The advanced imaging suite design is a coalescence of Philips Medical’s healthcare, lifestyle, and technology concepts for the optimal patient experience in a soothing, pleasing environment. The design already has been implemented in the pediatric imaging center at Advocate Lutheran General Children’s Hospital (Park Ridge, Ill). Other new products highlighted at the exhibit included the Brilliance CT 64-channel configuration, Remote Services Network, Xtenity RIS, Allura Xper FD20, Integris 3D-RA, Panorama 1.0T, Precedence SPECT/CT, JETStream Workspace for general nuclear medicine, and the Gemini GXL.
R2 Technology Inc (Sunnyvale, Calif). With an 80% market share, R2 is clearly a leader in CAD for mammography, said Chris Joseph, director of communications for R2. The company also has the only CAD system for multi-detector chest CT, which recently received FDA clearance. This technology’s probe feature automatically calculates area/ volume measurements, which, along with one-click efficacy, reduces read times by 20%. Also new from R2 is the ImageChecker Dmax high-density, digital mammography CAD scanner, which digitizes films with better contrast and quality. It is two times faster than the previous-generation scanner and has a new user interface.
RealTimeImage (RTI of San Bruno, Calif). RTI introduced the iPACS Prism version 5.0, a Web-based PACS featuring one of the world’s fastest image streaming solutions, easy-to-deploy digital image analysis, and management and archiving tools. Prism’s advanced radiology workstation features hanging protocols for customization, enhanced multi-monitor support, zoom beyond 1:1, CD burning, QC stations, and DICOM save.
Resonance Technology Co Inc (RTC of Northridge, Calif). RTC has created virtual entertainment for MRI patients, with digital laser-link audio/video entertainment systems: CinemaVision and Serene Sound. Both are designed to relax patients and eliminate anxiety during imaging. CinemaVision plays wide-screen DVDs, is slim and lightweight, and fits all standard and eight-channel head coils. The Serene Sound integrated entertainment console allows easy upgrade to CinemaVision and plays music through a headset with concert-quality digital sound.
Siemens Medical Solutions (Malvern, Pa). Siemens Medical was very busy at this year’s RSNA, announcing several new products and updates. The company introduced the Magnetom Trio, the first 3T2q MR system with Total Imaging Matrix (TIM) technology; the Somatom dual-slice, subsecond Spirit, and Somatom Sensation 40 CT systems; enhancements to the Sienet Cosmos integrated RIS/PACS enterprise solution; the biograph 64 PET/CT system; and the Arcadis Orbic 3D, a mobile C-arm with intraoperative 3-D imaging capabilities to generate 3-D images directly in the operating room.
Sony Electronics Inc (Park Ridge, NJ). The Medical Systems division of Sony displayed its FilmStation digital dry film imager, which prints a speedy 70 films per hour. Because of its small, lightweight design, the printer can be positioned vertically and in any radiology environment. Plus, its Filmlink technology enables workload sharing. (For more information about choosing a printer, see the article in our new Step by Step department .)
StorageTek (Louisville, Colo). Healthcare solutions for enterprise information life cycle management kept StorageTek’s booth busy during RSNA. The company designs its solutions to meet the specific needs of the healthcare industry and the demanding nature of healthcare information retrieval. These include data management needs associated with radiology, pathology, cardiology, and various aspects of healthcare administration. The Flexline 600 series allows faster access to archived data used in day-to-day operations, and maintenance and upgrades can be accomplished without bringing down the system. The company’s archiving solutions for PACS are sold in association with key partners, including Siemens Medical, Philips Medical, Agfa, Kodak, and Rorke Data (Eden Prairie, Minn).
Toshiba America Medical Systems (TAMS of Tustin, Calif). The company showcased a host of new products, including the Aplio XV software-TAMS’ flagship package for larger institutions, which offers expanded visualization (XV) and a differential tissue harmonic imaging (THI) feature, enabling extra diagnostic confidence with heavier or more difficult patients. TAMS has a “unique value proposition” with its Aplio XV package, which includes QuickScan (allowing optimization of an image with one touch on a flat-panel monitor) and workstation multitasking (made possible with such features as the iAssist navigation system with the Bluetooth capability and EPS Plus, which enables the storage of 3,500 images that can be immediately available for review).
US Electronics Inc (USEI of Minneapolis). USEI featured 3-megapixel monitors from Totoku with gray scale and color twice as bright as its previous generation. The high-resolution monitors feature an extra-large viewing screen, streamlined calibration, and hardware and software to provide stable image display under a range of conditions to ensure consistent, reliable display characteristics.
ZONARE Medical Systems (Mountain View, Calif). This new ultrasound company introduced its next-generation Zone Sonography platform at RSNA. The system acquires data quickly in relatively few large zones, rather than many narrow lines, allowing more rapid storage, processing, and display. It aggregates the original channel data and stores this information in the Channel Domain memory, which is then used in processing to form the image and to provide greater options for image postprocessing by retaining all of the original raw data. The Zone platform also provides economical upgrades.
Studies Say…
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| Not exactly gellin’ like Magellan! Combine a 450,000-sq-ft show floor with 60,000 visitors, add a sprinkle of chairs, and what do you get? Lots of tired feet, regardless of footwear strategies. As one exhibitor wearing deceptively comfy-looking shoes commented on day four, “My dogs are barking!” |
Behind the scenes of the busy technology exhibition, researchers presented findings of imaging studies with far-reaching healthcare consequences. These findings showed the breadth of radiology’s impact on healthcare.
In a study of CT colonography (aka virtual colonoscopy), Jesse A. Davila, MD, a fellow in musculoskeletal radiology at the Mayo Clinic Jacksonville (Florida)-along with colleagues-reviewed the records of 480 patients who underwent virtual colonoscopy at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn, from 1995 to 1998. “With virtual colonoscopy providing a less-invasive approach to diagnosing colon cancer [and requiring no sedation], we wanted to measure whether additional information could be gained during the scan,” Davila said. “Because cardiovascular disease often is asymptomatic prior to a major event, we hoped that we could use the scan to measure calcium-deposit levels within the aorta and its branching vessels without the need for additional testing.” The researchers uncovered a diagnostic benefit in that the procedure might detect heart attack risk as well as colon cancer: Of 480 patients who underwent the procedure, nine experienced subsequent heart attacks, and researchers studying their medical records found a direct correlation between these events and the high aortic calcium scores measured during the virtual colonoscopy. Thus, Davila concluded, by noting calcification scores during virtual colonoscopy procedures, physicians could have an additional means of identifying patients at risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
In a multicenter trial by the International Breast MR Consortium (IBMC), researchers at 13 sites studied 367 women older than 25 (mean age, 45 years) with at least a 25% lifetime risk of breast cancer to compare screening performance of MRI and mammography. Each of the women underwent MRI, mammography, and a clinical breast examination. The IBMC was hoping to find a screening modality to improve detection in high-risk young women, especially those with dense breast tissue (for which mammography is not optimal), according to presenter Constance Dobbins Lehman, MD, PhD, assistant professor and director of breast imaging at the University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, Cancer Care Alliance. MRI was found to enable radiologists to accurately identify tumors missed by mammography in high-risk patients; the study results showed that MRI would detect 11 cancers in 1,000 high-risk women, while mammography would detect three.
Another study of children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) showed that by means of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), differences in the brain fiber pathways that transmit and receive information among brain areas were revealed in the subjects. “This study is further proof that children with ADHD differ on a neurobiological level [from] children without the disorder,” said Andrew Adesman, MD, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Schneider Children’s Hospital (New Hyde Park, NY).
Researchers also reported that CT was able to identify the cause of the WTC cough, an ailment of rescue workers at the World Trade Center site who were exposed to toxins in the air after 9/11. The cough was found to be due to air trapping, a manifestation of lung airway obstruction that causes shortness of breath, dry cough, and wheezing. The diagnosis was made by means of end-expiratory high-resolution CT.
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With almost 700 exhibits, an attendance of almost 60,000 people, and about 300 scientific sessions, what we’ve delivered here is just a handful of the innovation and research that was on display at RSNA 2004. Look for additional coverage of the annual event in future issues of Medical Imaging.
Browsing the Technology Exhibits – RSNA 2004
1) Paul Wilder demonstrates FUJIFILM Medical Systems Inc’s PACS Synapse 3.1 upgrades, including clinical conferencing (reading protocol save technology), CT image processing, and DICOM SCU for accessing images on other vendors’ PACS. The company’s expanded vision for Synapse is a knowledge management system called Comprehension, which embraces the notion that the system will “understand, include, and recall” all the events that occur within the end-to-end radiology cycle.
2) Terry Heagy of Medrad says the Stellant-D CT injection system was the first in the marketplace to offer simultaneous injection of saline and contrast. “This has made a big impact in the clinical setting because it reduces contrast usage,” he says, “which poses less nephrotoxic risk for the patient and also saves money.”
3) Communication Synergy Technologies (ComSynTech) specializes in mobile, flexible solutions for document creation, management, and preservation. The Document Vault, demonstrated here by CEO Seth Borg, captures and manages any document for archiving and preservation.
4) Patricia Jreige of Matrox demonstrates the PCI Express system, providing accelerated performance and flexible display options. Matrox demonstrated other forthcoming technology at the show, which was shown on a variety of Totoku, NEC, and Siemens Medical displays.
5) Jeff Rothman (left in picture) of Suros Surgical Systems discusses the ATEC Sapphire breast biopsy system with Yun Wu. It is one of the industry’s first all-in-one vacuum-assisted systems compatible with MRI, ultrasound, and stereotactic modalities.
6) The Eastman Kodak Co booth attracted many visitors eager to see the newly launched DR 7500 system. The dual-detector system, which was designed based on customer input and ergonomic feedback, offers flexibility for hospitals because the components may be purchased separately.
7) New for Intelerad at this year’s RSNA is the InteleViewer, featuring linked stacking, configurable overlay information, multiplanar reconstruction (in progress), a teaching file module, third-party integrations, and printing and emailing of reports and key images.
8) Emageon executives talk business on the technology show floor. Emageon’s Intelligent Visual Medical System is an enterprise advanced visualization and infrastructure solution that allows physicians and healthcare professionals to manage, access, and visualize medical content with use of relevant multispecialty tools.
9) Meghan Mitchell of Confirma demonstrates the company’s core product, CADstream. “CADstream helps pinpoint areas of interest without every image being viewed, so that studies can be read faster,” she explains. “With use of the BI-RADS lexicon, we also are helping standardize how images are interpreted.”
10) Betsy Guffey of Kodak shows clients the image quality achieved with the company’s newly launched reduced-dosage, high-resolution film.
11) David Kuehn (left in picture) and Mike Brokloff of Dunlee stand before the replacement tube for GE Healthcare’s LightSpeed CT scanners. “Dunlee has the two most modern tube factories in the world and makes 70% of the tube types needed by any given hospital,” Kuehn says. The company’s new Glassware Solutions program offers total glassware coverage with a predictable monthly expense, for an overall cost savings.
12) Jed Roubique (far left in picture), Charles Minter, and Kevin Sundquist of MR Instruments meet in the Medical Imaging booth at RSNA with contributing writer Seleen Street Collins.
See and Be Seen
A string quartet played in the background as more than 200 mingled at the second annual Medical Imaging magazine’s Soir?e at RSNA.
1) Editor Andi Lucas (in gray suit at left) greets guests Sunday evening in the Regency Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place. With her are (from left to right) Jeff Weber, David Green, and Tracy Vasaturo of MedWeb. MedWeb has more than 700 sites installed worldwide with its 3-D Web PACS, integrated dictation, voice recognition, automated reporting and billing, and a RIS for radiologists.
2) From left, David Hebert (Aria Marketing), Matt Harris (Planar Systems), Robert Stoffey (Radiology Associates of Muncie), and Linda Ferguson (Planar Systems) welcome a chance to sit and chat at the evening reception. Planar has the number one market share in grayscale imaging, Ferguson says. “Planar has always been forward thinking in the potential for digital imaging,” she adds, “and the company strives to make radiology suite technology functional and cost-effective.”
3) The RamSoft crew relaxes after a busy day on the technology show floor. From left to right are Paul Vilary (standing), Jay Stoffer, Emily Burdette, Peter Szabla, Michal Szabla (front), Chris Liaw, Vijay Ramanathan (front), and Siva Ramanathan. RamSoft has been developing software solutions for the hospital and imaging center market since 1994. The company offers a Web-based digital imaging solution as well as key software components to provide solutions from basic teleradiology needs to PACS.
4) Editor Andi Lucas (right in picture) welcomes new Medical Imaging columnist Michael Mack to the Soir?e. Read Mack’s inaugural Informatics Report column, “The Politics of PACS.”
5) Guests enjoy the music of a string quartet as they help themselves to canap?s and hors d’oeuvres at the buffet.
Seleen Street Collins is a contributing writer for Medical Imaging.
Unwinding in the Windy City
Medical Imaging conducted a shamelessly nonscientific survey of attendees. Here’s a sampling of responses to what they hoped to do with their downtime.
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