Aquilion ONE ViSION from Toshiba
The Aquilion ONE ViSION Edition, the newest CT from Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc, Tustin, Calif, offers a low dose exam with a large bore, wide coverage, and thin slices. The system comes equipped with a gantry rotation of 0.275 seconds, a 100-kw generator, and 320 detector rows (640 unique slices), covering 16 cm in a single rotation with 500-micron slices. Featuring a 78-cm bore, the system can accommodate challenging patients. The Aquilion ONE ViSION Edition also includes Toshiba’s third-generation iterative dose reconstruction software, AIDR 3D, which incorporates significant system enhancements by reducing radiation dose compared with conventional scanning.
Extremity Scanner from Planmed
The Verity extremity scanner from Planmed, Helsinki, Finland, provides a 3D solution to a 2D problem. Extremity fractures during first visits to the clinic can be overlooked when using 2D radiographs. Planmed Verity extremity scanner is intended for pre- and post-operative imaging, and uses a lower dose of radiation than full-body CTs. Planmed Verity also allows for weight bearing imaging of the extremities. As a dedicated extremity scanner, Planmed Verity adapts to the patient with anatomy-specific imaging programs, movements, and carbon-fiber positioning trays. An adjustable, soft surfaced gantry and motorized positioning help attain a comfortable position for various examination procedures.
MyVue Patient Portal as a Cloud Service from Carestream
As of March 2013, the MyVue Patient Portal from Carestream, Rochester, NY, is commercially available as a cloud service. MyVue lets patients access, manage, and share their medical images and radiology reports with health care providers. It also positions providers to meet Stage 2 Meaningful Use requirements. Deploying the portal as a Vue Cloud Service offers the flexibility of a monthly fee and can accommodate more users without additional network expansions. Carestream manages remote access, networking requirements, and security procedures for users of its cloud services. MyVue is also available as an on-site portal for users of Carestream’s Vue PACS and Vue Archive, a vendor-neutral archiving solution that supports third-party PACS platforms.
Weight-Bearing 3D CT from CurveBeam
The pedCAT from CurveBeam, Warrington, Pa, is an in-office, weight bearing, cone-beam computed tomography scanner for the foot and ankle. It produces 3D images with dosage comparable to many 2D imaging solutions. The pedCAT system can image one or both feet in true weight bearing position and create full 3D reconstructions of the bony anatomy in less than 3 minutes. Users can review multiple slice planes and make measurements using the system’s visualization software. The pedCAT’s dimensions are 4 feet by 4 feet by 5 feet, allowing it to fit in a variety of locations.
Ferromagnetic Detector from Kopp Development
The FerrAlert HALO II from Kopp Development has new updates to its system, which detects ferromagnetic materials near MRI units. With the new Visual Advanced Warning Technology, the detection zone is increased and people receive visual and audio notification about potential threats. The greater the threat, the further away the warning is activated. Indicator lights, posted on both sides of doorways, turn from green to yellow to red, indicating the level of danger. An audio alarm sounds if initial warnings are ignored. A total of 24 sensors track 18 zones, including outside the MRI room, and no pat-downs or handheld detectors are required.
Novarad and Dell Debut MARZ Vendor Neutral Archive
Novarad, American Fork, Utah, and Dell, Round Rock, Tex, have partnered to create MARZ, a vendor neutral archive (VNA). MARZ stores and manages patient data for compliance to simplify search and retrieval of data for all health care providers from any computer. MARZ combines Dell’s Unified Clinical Archive (UCA) for on-premise or in-the-cloud data storage and management combined with Novarad’s zero footprint viewer, iPad viewer, or optional clinical viewer. With MARZ, medical imaging data objects that adhere to standards-based IHE protocols of DICOM and non-DICOM file formats can be easily shared, exchanged, and managed. With MARZ, users pay a one-time-per-study fee paid only as current studies enter the VNA. After that, users have unlimited and free access to studies once they are stored in the VNA.
