New technology accelerates diagnosis
Radiologist Dr Christoph Seifried, and colleagues at Altötting hospital, are among the first to use the new Sectra workstation IDS7/rx.
The IT revolution
To meet an ever expanding demand for faster, more efficient healthcare delivery, and therefore better IT solutions, companies are in hot competition internationally. In an interview with Daniela Zimmermann, Dr Andrea Fiumicelli, Head of IT at Agfa HealthCare, discussed his company's aims and position in this vibrant healthcare market
Innovations to improve cost and quality of patient care
“We have a broad set of products and services that enable healthcare providers to improve the quality and cost of patient care,” said Carestream Health's Chief Executive Officer Kevin J. Hobert with reference to Carestream´s RSNA highlights. “We have digital technology and consulting services that few companies can match, and our integrated imaging and IT solutions are helping healthcare…
Philips unveils iCT
The Philips flagship product at RSNA, the 256-slice Brilliance iCT scanner, allows radiologists to produce high-quality images with exceptional acquisition speed, including complete coverage of the heart and brain. It is so powerful it can capture an image of the entire heart in just two beats, while incorporating Philips technology that has reduced radiation doses by up to 80 percent.
Connecting multiple discrete RIS/PACS Solutions
GE Healthcare IT, unveiled Centricity OneView, a web-based clinical information and workflow management system designed to connect multiple discrete RIS and PACS solutions.
Nanocoating for stents: prevention of coronary re-stenosis
Recent studies show that drug-eluting-stents perform superior than bare metal stents in the treatment of high-risk cardiac patients. At ComPaMED 2007, the Germany based company HEMOTEQ, leading designer and manufacturer of ultra-thin coatings for medical devices, presented their solutions for customized coating of stents.
Agfa HealthCare announced programme for RSNA at MEDICA
Agfa HealthCare, a leading provider of IT-enabled clinical workflow and diagnostic imaging solutions, announces today at MEDICA that it will be presenting its entire Computed Radiography solutions family range at RSNA 2007, to be held in Chicago from 25 until 30 November. From desktop and compact solutions to groundbreaking Computed Radiography systems that fill the gap between CR and DR, Agfa…
The Novalis Tx for stereotactic radiosurgery
Novalis Tx, a system for stereotactic radiosurgery, has resulted from a partnership between the Munich-based medical technology company BrainLAB AG and Varian Medical Systems Inc, two firms that have successfully worked together on radiation therapy products for over a decade. The powerful linear accelerator Trilogy Tx and special technology for beam focusing was contributed by Varian; BrainLAB,…
POCI: an intra-operative imaging probe for sentinel node localisation
Growing interest in sentinel lymph node (SLN) detection has led to its use in many clinical centres. The most successful protocols for localisation of SLNs are those that include preliminary lymphoscintigraphy performed with a conventional gamma-camera. In the absence of a nuclear medicine department, SLN protocols using only an intra-operative counting probe are generally less efficient. To…
The optical biopsy: Coming into view?
A British collaboration has secured £325,000 (?460,000) of government backing to develop an in vivo optical imaging probe for diagnostic and therapeutic applications in oncology. The long-term objective is to use optical coherence tomography (OCT), an interferometric imaging modality, to perform real-time diagnosis and to guide the removal of cancerous or precancerous tissue during the same…
Ultrasound technology may reduce breast biopsies
eSie Touch Elasticity Imaging, a new method in ultrasound, demonstrated by Siemens Medical Solutions in March at the European Congress of Radiology, is an adjunct to regular breast ultrasound examinations, and may provide a clinically relevant differentiation of benign and malignant tissue. Several studies have shown promising results, and suggest the method could reduce the number of unnecessary…
Benchtop ultrasonic cleaning
UK - A new range of benchtop ultrasonic cleaners are being launched at MEDICA by manufacturer Ultrawave.
Cardiology roundup
The new £2 million remote access stereotaxis catheter laboratory at London's Heart Hospital, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), is the first of its kind in the UK and one of only 40 worldwide.
Varicose veins
USA - A next-generation radiofrequency ablation catheter - the VNUS ClosureFASTTM - has been used by surgeon Phillip Levin MD, at Cedars-Sinai, in Los Angeles, California. An expert in VNUS closure procedure, Dr Levin has treated approximately 300 patients since 2003 with the ClosureFASTTM catheter's predecessor.
A PACS solution for cardiology
Just in time for Medica, VISUS has expanded its products portfolio with a PACS solution for cardiology.
Sectra increases range of integrated third-party clinical applications
Swedish IT and medical-technology company Sectra has signed an agreement with Vital Images under which Sectra will be able to integrate Vital Images' Vitrea software as part of Sectra PACS (picture archiving and communications systems).
Determining vascular age
New to the Siemens Medical Solutions portfolio of ultrasound applications is the syngo Arterial Health Package (AHP), which calculates cardiovascular risks by measuring carotid intima media thickness and determining the relative `vascular age´ of the vessel. Using this, along with, for example, cholesterol values and blood pressure, a physician can better assess a patient's myocardial or…
Digital networking of four municipal hospital sites in Munich
One of the biggest RIS/PACS healthcare networks in Germany - a Centricity system installed by GE - was recently launched at the Munich Municipal Hospital GmbH to link its 67 clinics and institutes, which are spread across four sites (Bogenhausen, Harlaching, Neuperlach and Schwabing).
High-def surgical imaging
Sony is showcasing its highly innovative high definition (HD) solutions for diagnostic imaging and display, through to HD surgery and post-operation analysis and training (featured in several issues of our flagship publication EUROPEAN HOSPITAL (www.european-hospital.com)).
Display & software solutions
Whether in endoscopy, surgery, clinical diagnosis or just for viewing, the quality of the display has a significant impact on the result. In addition, the quality expectations for display systems are increasingly dependent on individual requirements in different hospitals or even departments. Over the years, MeDiSol, the medical division of Rein EDV, has specialised in flexible display solutions…
Easing life for patients with chronic respiratory problems
Detroit based Delphi Medical Systems is a world-class provider of technology, products, and product development and manufacturing for many major sectors of the medical industry. Amongst their latest technologies on show at Medica (Hall 11) is the Delphi Portable O2, a light weight oxygen supply for patients with respiratory diseases or other illnesses requiring supplemental oxygen such as chronic…
Acuson P50: laptop-based ultrasound system for POC-use.
The Acuson P50 is a new laptop-based ultrasound system from Siemens Medical Solutions. Presented at the MEDICA 2007, the portable ultrasound system was specially designed for mobile applications in cardiology, as well as vascular applications and use in anaesthesiology departments or operating theatres.
MCC - Meierhofer's Healthcare IT-solution
At MEDICA 2007, the German Meierhofer AG focused their presentation on the scaleable IT-solution MCC. MCC is specially designed for the use in the healthcare sector as an all-in-one software solution.
Worldwide healthcare launch of Clinell Sporicidal
GAMA Healthcare Ltd, UK based infection-control specialists launched at Medica today the world's first cleaning, sterilising and disinfecting peracetic acid generating wipe. This innovative dry wipe, Clinell Sporicidal, has been developed by doctors for widespread use in the hospital environment. On contact with water peracetic acid, which impregnates the wipe, is activated instantly to the…
MRI and magnetic fields
The European Commission (EC) has postponed the EU Directive that would have affected the use of MRI until 30 April 2012, to allow time for a substantive amendment to be adopted.
