ECR_2016

Improved security for the patient! The injector itself remains wireless and mobile! Improved workflow in angiography! Keep track of things! Hauptstrasse 255 · D-66128 Saarbruecken For more info: www.medtron.com Contrast medium injectors and consumables for CT, MRI and angiography For Philips & Siemens angiography devices! NEW: DVI-interface between Accutron® HP-D and monitors European_Hospital_1-4_Seite_HPD.qxp_Anzeige 12.02.16 12:47 Seite 1 EUROPEAN HOSPITAL  Vol 25 Issue 1/16 6 EH @ ECR On the wish list of scientist and academic researchers PACS and imaging biobank assets combined Report: Marcel Rasch Personalised medicine relies strong- ly on biobanking in which medi- cal data are collected on a large scale. Large scale refers both to the amount of data collected per patient as well as to the large number of patients included in the data col- lection. Although most attention in biobanking has been given to genetic data, proteomics, metabolomics and other –omics technologies, imaging is also being included as part of biobanking. The image features are the final result of gene-environment interaction and will provide infor- mation at the structural, functional and molecular level. Biomarkers have thus become increasingly important over recent decades and imaging biomarkers currently are gaining sig- nificant attention. Two problems have arisen. The first is the storage of research image data; the second is the extraction of imag- ing biomarkers. Radiologists may wonder whether the hospital PACS can solve these problems. Working with a PACS to provide better patient care by analysing their images and obtaining reports to improve diagno- ses is nothing new to most clinicians. PACS provides storage and access to all images acquired during the diagnostic and therapeutic phase of the disease. Nowadays it can be inte- grated in the digital electronic patient record (EPR). For radiologists, a PACS provides a workspace for planning and reporting image exams. More importantly, the integration of image analysis tools allows the creation of 2-D or 3-D reconstructions and the extraction of imaging biomarkers. It is foreseen that structured reporting will also rely on the digital environ- ment of the PACS and integrated thin client analysis tools. However, storage of image data for biobanking has specific require- ments and there are major dif- ferences between a PACS and an image biobank. A biobank contains anonymised data and is accessible by researchers that have permission from the principal investigators of the biobank. PACS data contains the name of the patient and are acces- sible by all physicians involved in the treatment of this patient. Image storage in most research projects is not stable and robust, future data access is not secured and a secure data access is not always maintained. In contrast, a PACS is very stable and robust, data can be stored for more than 20 years, a secure access is guar- anteed and loss of data is minimized. An image biobank needs a DICOM viewer and additional analysis tools to review the image data and to perform analysis and interpretation of these data by humans. One of the main advantages of PACS is the presence of these tools. ‘In the clini- cal environment we have a very nice PACS in which to analyse these data, but what we do not have is the possibility of using these analytical tools from the PACS in a research environment. Making full use of the options provided by a PACS system in a research infrastructure could take science to a completely new level,’ he adds. An image biobank with a well- defined structure allows query and retrieve of image data based on avail- able metadata. In addition, multiple imaging biomarkers can be extracted by fully automated image analysis tools with integrated pipelines that make use of GRID computing. Images of hundreds of patients can be regis- tered, relevant structures can be seg- mented and quantitative biomarkers can be extracted and automatically stored in the database. A PACS does not allow query and retrieve on a large scale, nor the fully automated analysis of hundreds of image data sets. ‘What we need from a research perspective is just not available in a PACS, although some PACS features would be very useful for research.’In the clinical environment, the assess- ment of image information relies on a description that is provided by an imaging expert: the radiologist. In a research setting intelligent machine A big update in X-ray and fluoroscopy equipment Leading hospital installs new generation Shortening exposure and exam time – Equipped with the largest available flat panel detector measuring 43 x 43 cm, and a digital imaging plat- form, the universal Sonialvision G4 offers the hospital a large variety of applications across all departments. The R/F system provides high-reso- lution full leg and full spine images, which can be obtained from stand- ing or lying patients. This makes it a valuable tool for clinicians, for example for digital endo-prosthesis planning. The high operating speed of the R/F system reduces the exposure dose for patients and medical staff. Images can be viewed immediately after completion of the imaging pro- cedure, thus shortening the exami- nation time overall and reducing stress for the patients. The system’s examination table is also designed for the increasing number of bari- atric patients and takes a patient weight of up to 318 kg. Multidisciplinary applica- tions abound ‘With this ultra-modern system we can examine patients with diseases of the biliary tract or impaired pancreatic drainage gently and efficiently’, explains PD Dr Heinz Linhart, Head of the Internal Medicine Department at Asklepios- Klinik Lindau. ‘Typical applications are for patients with pain in the upper abdomen or colics, where there is a suspected blockage of the bile duct by gallstones. Combined with an endoscope, the biliary tract can be examined and gallstones in the bile duct can be detected and removed if necessary,’ Linhart explains. The new system can also diagnose blockages of the bile duct caused by tumours. ‘Examining the gastrointestinal tract using R/F technology allows not only a detailed clarification of questions ahead of a possible vis- ceral surgery intervention, but also a review of the surgical result’, adds Professor Ulrich Schöffel Medical Director and Chief Physician at the Department for General and Visceral Surgery. ‘The dynamic func- tions of the oesophagus, the stom- ach and the entire intestinal tract, as well as the renal function, can be assessed reliably after adminis- tration of a contrast medium,‘ he adds. ‘Surgically formed joints can be reviewed as easily as the success of a reflux operation on the stom- ach. In addition, the representation of fistulas and monitoring of their treatment is substantially simplified.’ Diagnostic range completed Johann Bachmeyer, the hospital’s chief executive, stated: ‘The diag- nostic range is now complete and significantly improved by this piece of high-tech engineering.’ The manufacturer adds: ‘The large longitudinal coverage of Sonialvision G4 and the flat panel detector, for example, provide a The radiology department at the German hospital Asklepios-Klinik Lindau recently received the high- performance R/F table Sonialvision G4, a new generation of X-ray and fluoroscopy systems, which complements examination and therapy options, particularly in internal medicine, as well as general surgery and for spinal disorders, the manufacturer Shimadzu reports Asklepios-Klinik in Lindau Right: Shimadzu’s high-performance R/F table Sonialvision G4 Aad van der Lugt, Professor in Neuro­ radiology and Head-Neck-Radiology at Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands is director of the neuroradiological research programme. In 2007, he expanded his research into imaging biomarkers in large population-based studies. Within these epi- demiology studies, the professor is respon- sible for the imaging infrastructure. He is one of the cofounders of EPI2 (European Population Imaging Infrastructure), co- applicant of NL-BBMRI 2.0 (Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure in the Netherlands) and responsible for Population Imaging in the Euro-BioImaging (ESFRI) project. He is also a member of the research committee of the European Society of Radiology. European_Hospital_1-4_Seite_HPD.qxp_Anzeige 12.02.1612:47 Seite 1

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