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by Cat Vasko
· Planar Teams with NVIDIA for Medical Display Graphics
· SpringReports Delivers Imaging Reports for EHRs
· Cedara and Varian Announce Licensing Agreement for I-Response
· Cedara and Biotronics3D to Partner on C4 Clinical Plug-In Modules
Planar Teams with NVIDIA for Medical Display Graphics
Planar Systems Inc, Beaverton, Ore, recently announced a partnership with NVIDIA Corp, Santa Clara, Calif, to incorporate NVIDIA?s Quadro graphics solutions into Planar?s Dome diagnostic and clinical medical displays. The Dome line of displays offers open architecture support and the versatility to view multiple modality studies, along with multiple head configuration support.
?Planar continues to provide customers with multiple display options, integrating the latest in graphics processing technology,? said Patrick Herguth, vice president and general manager of Planar?s medical business division. ?NVIDIA?s premier stature in the graphics controller market coincides with Planar?s stature in diagnostic imaging displays. This collaboration provides our customers with a best-in-class product offering and roadmap that can be optimized for diagnostic imaging.?
- Planar will use NVIDIA graphics solutions in its Dome E3 and other monitors.
Sanford Russell, professional market development manager at NVIDIA, explained, ?The Quadro graphics processor has the capability to render a 2D or 3D model as authentically as the program wants to. And authentic is kind of a funny word because their intent is not necessarily photorealistic; in some markets, their intent is to make it look like a cartoon, whereas in other markets, like the medical market, they?ll assign volumes for different body masses?they may want bones to be ultrawhite and soft tissue black, or they may want just the opposite.
?The uniqueness of what Quadro offers people is you can program in one style and work across all the products we make,? Russell continued. ?It?s program once, play anywhere.?
As part of the terms of the agreement, Planar and NVIDIA will synchronize their product development cycles so that customers purchasing from the Dome line will always receive the latest NVIDIA Quadro graphics capabilities. Another benefit to consumers is the extended life cycle on the Quadro line offered by NVIDIA, meaning users can expect long-term support for their display solutions. By the same token, NVIDIA gains the benefit of Planar?s experience with the medical imaging industry?s need and requirements, a boon in guiding product development for the clinical market.
?We are excited about working with Planar to bring exceptional solutions to the medical profession by enhancing the quality of the digital imagery, increasing the supported resolution, and continually introducing new solutions through close collaboration,? said Jeff Brown, general manager of the professional solutions group at NVIDIA.
The Planar and NVIDIA solutions are available now. Initial configurations include the NVIDIA FX3500, FX1500, NVS285X16, and NVS285X1 boards supporting various configurations of Dome EX and Planar GX displays from 2 to 5 megapixels.
SpringReports Delivers Imaging Reports for EHRs
Spring Medical Systems Inc, Houston, has released its newest EHR product, SpringReports. In keeping with the company?s goal of providing interoperable, easy-to-use, and affordable EHR systems, SpringReports securely and electronically delivers imaging reports directly to medical practices, improving workflow, enhancing efficiency, and saving money.
?One of the real values of having an EHR is being able to send data between labs, imaging labs, hospitals, and all that,? explained Mark Benvegnu, vice president and chief strategy officer at Spring Medical. ?That?s one of our major pushes right now: Making sure that physicians can get electronic data quickly and securely. And that brings us to SpringReports.?
SpringReports builds on the company?s SpringCharts EHR solution, a CCHIT-certified and HL7-compliant platform that emphasizes functionality and intuitive use for small to medium-sized practices. SpringCharts is already in use in more than 500 practices nationwide.
?SpringReports is an HL7 interface that allows practices to bring in any kind of report or document that?s formatted as an HL7 message,? Benvegnu said. ?The first application is for imaging reports?typically, a doctor would receive a report on an image via fax or mail. But with SpringReports, it comes in electronically. You can view it onscreen and attach it to a patient?s chart.
?It doesn?t seem like a lot to process individual reports, but over time processing those at the point of care becomes time-consuming,? he added.
The Medical Center of East Houston and Houston-based River Oaks Imaging and Diagnostic were the first practices to implement the solution. ?We are very excited about our relationship with Spring Medical,? said River Oaks CEO Jim King. ?We believe this collaboration will improve the efficiency of health care delivery for both the physician and River Oaks.?
Cedara and Varian Announce Licensing Agreement for I-Response
A new licensing agreement between Cedara Software, a subsidiary of Merge Healthcare, Toronto, and Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, Calif, gives Varian the exclusive global rights to distribute Cedara?s I-Response technology in the radiation and medical oncology market. Varian is a leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for cancer treatment; the company also supplies informatics software for managing comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers, and medical oncology practices.
?We are delighted to announce this agreement with Varian Medical Systems,? said Loris Sartor, president of Cedara. ?Our intention is to forge a long-term strategic relationship in which both companies can leverage expertise to bring leading edge imaging to the oncology market, thereby advancing the state of the art in oncology treatment planning.
?The agreement between Cedara and Varian is an excellent example of how leading companies can work together to advance cancer care,? he continued. ?Cedara brings technological expertise in imaging software, quantification, and analysis. With Varian?s leadership in oncology and the broad reach of its marketing and sales organization, this important new oncology tool will now reach clinicians and patients faster and more efficiently.?
Cedara?s I-Response is a software tool designed to quickly and efficiently analyze how tumors are responding to treatment; the platform supports multiple imaging modalities and features patented analysis of functional diffusion mapping MR. The system enables visualization and quantification of changes in tumor tissue from cellular and metabolic mechanisms; this data can then be tracked over time, facilitating analysis of the impact of drugs and radiation therapy.
?Cedara I-Response is the perfect complement to Varian?s Dynamic Adaptive Radiation Therapy (DART) program,? said Corey Zankowski, senior director for Varian?s software business. ?It adds sophisticated image analysis capabilities that will help oncologists make the best treatment decisions for their patients. Offering the I-Response technology from Cedara to our customers will be an excellent next step for us, and will help to set a new standard for therapeutic assessment in cancer care.?
I-Response was commercially released in June.
Cedara and Biotronics3D to Partner on C4 Clinical Plug-In Modules
A recently announced agreement between Cedara Software, a Merge Healthcare company, Toronto, and Biotronics3D Ltd, based in London, enables Biotronics3D to distribute C4-enabled Biotronics3D applications to the growing contingent of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) adopting the C4 framework. Additionally, the agreement licenses Biotronics3D to market C4-enabled versions of its 3Dnet Suite family of 3D visualization software.
?We selected Biotronics3D to be a key partner based on the obvious synergies that our solutions possess together,? said Loris Sartor, president of Cedara. ?With this agreement, Cedara significantly strengthens its portfolio of clinical solutions that we can offer customers that use C4-enabled products.?
The Cedara Clinical Control Center platform?otherwise known as C4?is a software framework that enables a host application to obtain plug-and-play access to a diverse array of clinical application modules following a one-time integration. C4-enabled plug-in modules can be launched from any C4-enabled host, including PACS and clinical workstations.
?I believe the addition of the 3Dnet Suite to the growing portfolio of Cedara C4-enabled applications gives OEM suppliers of PACS workstations a convenient way to offer to health care providers many clinical applications that are in high demand,? said Haralambos Hatsakis, CEO of Biotronics3D. ?The synergies between Cedara and Biotronics3D solutions based on the C4 integration platform will help clinicians improve workflow and could help contribute to diagnostic accuracy in CT, MRI, and PET studies.?
Three Biotronics3D applications are now C4-enabled plug-in modules?3D virtual colonoscopy, 3D general diagnostic, and 3D angiography. Cedara itself offers I-ReadMammo, OrthoWorks Pro Planner, and a PET/CT application.
