Digital x-ray image detectors that are portable, fast, reliable, usable around the world, and capable of generating highly detailed images at low dose rates are among the x-ray imaging system components that Varian Medical Systems exhibited this year at the annual meeting of the European Congress of Radiology in Vienna, Austria.

The products include the PaxScan 4336W, a dual band detector licensed for use in most markets globally. It can transmit image data in real-time across a very reliable wireless link. “Even with the panel inside a cassette tray, or down below the x-ray table, the transmission rates stay consistently high,” said Rick Colbeth, VP of engineering for Varian imaging products. “Quality images can be generated very quickly.” The wireless panel also includes a built in diagnostic program that provides a way to continuously monitor the “health” of the unit for faster, easier servicing.

In addition to the new wireless panel,Varian also showcased the following technologies.

  • The PaxScan 4343CB, a radiography and fluoroscopy panel that delivers high quality x-ray images as well as low-dose fluoroscopic images, showing motion at up to 60 frames per second.
  • The PaxScan 3024M is a full field digital mammography detector designed for rapid image acquisition and tomosynthesis, a method of using x-rays to create a 3-dimensional image of the breast.
  • The PaxPower M-1500 x-ray tube was developed specifically for advanced mammography applications such as tomosynthesis and CT scanning. Its space-efficient design enables high quality imaging in the chest wall region, as well as the power to enable sophisticated slit scanning and photon counting approaches that can yield higher contrast when imaging large or dense areas.
  • Varian’s InfiMed image processing software and workstations offer advanced imaging algorithms for processing data from radiographic flat panel image detectors, dynamic detectors, and legacy image intensifier systems