Carestream highlights CR readers, RIS/CAD, mammo CAD

Nov 28, 2007

CHICAGO - At this year's RSNA meeting, Carestream Health of Rochester, NY, is highlighting new additions to its computed radiography (CR) line, as well as RIS/PACS enhancements and new upgrades to its mammography computer-aided detection (CAD) software.

PACS/healthcare informatics

Carestream has unveiled several new features for its Kodak Carestream RIS/PACS. New features on the Carestream RIS platform utilize voice-activated controls and voice-activated standardized reporting for report dictation from any location.

The Kodak Carestream RIS/PACS.

In addition, Carestream's RIS can prepopulate radiology reports with patient and exam information from order entry, eliminating the need to spend time dictating data already available. Carestream's PACS adds optional integrated applications, such as native 3D, image fusion, orthopedic templating, and cardiac analysis to authorized users at remote locations, as well as onsite diagnostic workstations.

Other features of the Carestream RIS/PACS:

Web-based reporting, including integrated speech recognition software
Remote transcription for Web-based users
Enhanced practice management tools, including standardized productivity reports and improved management reporting
Support of a multisite workflow community through a global worklist and central database
Single desktop with integrated clinical applications to equip authorized users with data and tools required for reading or viewing

Carestream also is highlighting Kodak Carestream Information Management Solutions (IMS), including Kodak Carestream Enterprise Information Management (EIM), which is designed to archive radiology images and consolidate fixed-content information, such as scanned patient documents, reports, audio clips, e-mail, and video files into a central data repository, and displays both DICOM and non-DICOM data. EIM can be integrated with an existing storage area network (SAN) or network-attached storage (NAS) systems.

In addition, Carestream is showing its Kodak Carestream Regional Information Management (RIM) for enterprise-wide storage management on a regional level.

Digital x-ray

The company's new CR offerings include the DirectView Classic and Elite single-plate readers. The readers are 40% smaller than the company's DirectView 850 reader. Elite features a throughput of 98 imaging plates per hour in the 35 x 43-cm format, while Classic has throughput of 68 35 x 43-cm plates per hour.

Carestream is featuring its DirectView Elite CR reader at RSNA 2007.

Carestream is highlighting the configurability of the system's version 5.0 software, with features such as a slider that allows users to adjust image review parameters, as well as user-customized image presentation. Version 5.0 software is also available on the company's DirectView 850 and 975 readers.

DirectView Elite CR also supports CR mammography applications outside the U.S., as well as dental and long-bone imaging. The system is expected to begin shipping in December.

In mammography imaging, Carestream is waiting for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance to sell CR mammography features in the U.S., but the company has been selling the application internationally. In its RSNA booth, the company is demonstrating new enhancements as works-in-progress, thanks to a new software upgrade.

The new features include DX-IOD, an expanded set of data elements that allow for easier compatibility with RIS/PACS software, printers, and other devices; and MG-IOD, a dataset that contains compression measurement, filtration, kV, and other modality interface information. The company also is highlighting the connectivity of its mammography workstation to full-field digital mammography systems from other vendors, and the ability to read images from other modalities on the computer.

Carestream is also discussing a new film digitizer offering that helps mammography facilities convert to digital imaging by converting prior films into digital data. Up to 50 films can be scanned without operator intervention, and the system also provides automatic identification and orientation of images, as well as automatic retrieval of patient data from RIS. The digitizer accepts 18 x 24-cm and 24 x 30-cm film sizes.

Finally, Carestream is demonstrating a new software version for its Point-of-Care CR-ITX 560 reader that includes support for additional languages.

In mammography CAD, Carestream is featuring its homegrown CAD software analyzing data from both CR and flat-panel digital mammography systems. The software has not yet been cleared by the FDA and is being shown as a work-in-progress.

Carestream is also showing chest CAD and bone mineral density osteoporosis detection systems for use with CR and DR systems. These applications are currently available in China. Other works-in-progress include chest CAD software to detect the proper placement of tubes in ICU patients, and breast image registration software that performs automatic registration of current and prior breast exams so that microcalcification changes can be closely examined.

The company also plans to launch a service that enables healthcare facilities to pay for CAD analysis based on the number of times it's used, without a capital investment in hardware and software.

Molecular imaging

Carestream's molecular imaging unit is announcing the commercial availability of a new digital x-ray imaging platform for high-resolution radiographs of medical, life science, and material science research specimens.

Kodak DXS (Digital X-Ray Specimen) systems are shielded, self-contained cabinet x-ray imaging systems that feature a cooled 4-million-pixel CCD camera combined with proprietary phosphor screen technology and resolution of up to 25 line pairs per millimeter without geometric magnification.

Additional features and benefits include 16-bit imaging that produces more than 65,000 levels of grayscale for accurate x-ray density measurement, and 10X optical zoom for a field-of-view of up to 20 x 20 cm. In addition, integrated analysis software enables quantification, annotation, and databasing of radiography images to enhance the efficiency of research teams.

The Kodak DXS 4000 Pro system has the above-mentioned features, as well as full automation. Carestream is targeting applications such as pathology, forensics, agricultural, marine biology, and forestry research. Both the Kodak DXS 4000 and Kodak DXS 4000 Pro are currently available.

By Brian Casey and Wayne Forrest
AuntMinnie.com staff writers
November 29, 2007

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