Dear AuntMinnie Member,
It continues to be a busy summer for mergers and acquisitions in the radiology industry. Information technology giant IBM today announced that it plans to buy imaging informatics developer Merge Healthcare for $1 billion.
IBM is positioning the deal as part of its growing interest in healthcare. The company in April formed its Watson Health unit, a division built around the Watson artificial intelligence technology (of "Jeopardy!" TV show fame). IBM said that buying Merge will make it easier for the company to give Watson access to the mountains of patient data being generated in imaging informatics.
Does that make the deal the ultimate big-data play? It's an interesting question. Watson has had some noteworthy accomplishments, but winning at Jeopardy is a far cry from playing an active role in the management of patients, at least in the near term.
That could start to change with today's deal, however. Read more about it by clicking here.
IR meets VR for training
Another high-tech story is breaking this week with our article on the use of virtual reality (VR) for training in interventional radiology (IR).
Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School have developed a training simulation program that uses VR technology to enable trainees to practice interventional techniques without involving patients. The technology combines a head-mounted virtual reality display that tracks the user's head movement with GoPro cameras mounted inside an interventional suite, giving the ability to "move" inside a virtual environment.
The group has developed several training modules for initial testing with attending radiologists and trainees, such as an introduction to the interventional radiology suite and how to set up an IR tray.
How well is it working? Find out by clicking here, or visit our Advanced Visualization Community at av.auntminnie.com.
fMRI goes to the dogs
Finally, visit our MRI Community for a new article on how functional MRI (fMRI) is going to the dogs -- literally. Just click here for more, or go to mri.auntminnie.com.
