Dear Buyer's Guide Update Member,
It's becoming widely accepted in radiology circles that CT angiography is the technology of the future, and MR angiography is gaining inroads as well. Do these trends spell the end of catheter-based angiography as we know it?
Not quite. The rising use of less-invasive modalities for angiography is indeed displacing catheter-based systems for many diagnostic applications. But like water seeking its own level, cath labs are finding new life thanks to the rapid growth of image-guided interventional therapies, in particular placing stents and other devices.
Users of catheter-based angiography systems are also enjoying a modernization wave thanks to the relatively recent arrival of flat-panel digital detectors for dynamic applications. Angio vendors are throwing out their bulky old image intensifiers and swapping in flat-panel detectors, making it even easier to move angio data into PACS networks or to apply advanced visualization software techniques to images.
In this edition of Buyer's Guide Update, you'll find links to a multitude of angiography products, from cardiac cath systems to multipurpose units, as well as listings of components, software, accessories, and services.
And don't forget the Buyer's Guide's easy-to-use product comparison feature. To get started, just go to the product section you're researching -- such as Angiography, Cardiac and Vascular: Complete Systems -- and check the "Compare" boxes of the products you're interested in.
To get you started, we've set up a product comparison of biplane angiography systems from four major vendors. Check it out:
You can even produce a PDF of your results by clicking the Adobe PDF icon at the upper left of every product comparison chart.
Coming up in March, our focus will be on women's imaging, including mammography and bone densitometry systems. If you're a vendor and would like to update your Buyer's Guide listings, just send an e-mail to [email protected] to get started.
