By Michael J. Cannavo
The saying "The more things change the more they stay the same" has pretty much defined PACS at the RSNA conference over the past few years. This year, however, is an exception. Technological advances have redefined PACS at this week’s meeting, even though I’ve only seen half the show in an entire day.
Three major trends are in evidence. Flat-panel displays are ubiquitous. Dominating the show floor are 21-inch five-megapixel monitors capable of displaying images at 2K resolution, with brightness in excess of 150 footlamberts.
While the monitors aren’t cheap -- prices range from $7,000 to $17,000 each (the latter prices are ultra-high-brightness displays and include the requisite display adapters) -- the price is offset by astounding image quality, incredibly small footprint, and almost no heat generation.
The majority of the flat-panel displays have been from Dome Imaging Systems, although displays were also shown by Barco, Richardson Electronics, and IBM. U.S. Electronics and Quest International displayed monitors by Japanese manufacturer Totoku.
Computed radiography (CR) system prices continued to drop, with several single-plate systems shown in the sub-$50,000 price range. Many of these units are still considered works in progress, with some vendors quoting delivery as early as mid to late 2001.
These include systems from Orex, Phormax, World Technologies, Neu-Alpine, and several other companies. The $50K-100K CR price point is being targeted by several major vendors, including CR leader Fuji Medical Systems, as well as Kodak, which offers two systems at this price point. In addition, Agfa’s new ScanHead product addresses the needs of CR customers with a DR-like application of its cassetteless technology.
Digital radiography (DR) prices have also fallen dramatically, with several systems breaking the $200,000 price point (although, again, many companies are still awaiting completion of the FDA review process). These include Richardson Electronics’ NextRay ADR (advanced digital radiography) system, Neu-Alpine’s NAX-500 DR, and systems from CaresBuilt, Canon, Swissray, Trixell, and several other firms. Higher-end DR systems, priced in the $250,000 to $450,000 range, are being offered by Kodak, GE, Hologic, Agfa, Konica, Oldelft, and others.
While mergers and acquisitions dominate news among the big six PACS companies, many of the smaller players have also aligned forces. Riptide Technology and Image Medical are formally announcing their new corporate moniker as Avreo, and immediately established OEM relationships with both Intel and the American Hospital Association (AHA).
Streaming compression technology provider LizardTech has purchased AT&T’s DejaVu product, allowing the company to keep pace with competitors Stentor, which aligned with information systems vendor IDX, and RealTimeImage, which recently established an OEM relationship with Kodak.
EMC and Data General have strengthened their alliance, while Data General’s healthcare partner MarkCare Medical countered by promoting its relationship with information systems provider Meditech in their booth.
Some of the more unique applications of new technology were shown by Marconi Medical Systems, in the company’s "roaming desktop" application. The demonstrations, which featured technologies developed by Marconi partners Xyloc and Xcert International, included the use of SmartCard, secure ID, and public key infrastructure (PKI) encryption that helps Marconi’s JPACS product meet the requirements defined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
The RSNA exhibit floor is seeing the usually plethora of "new and improved" products and derivatives, although few truly meet the definition. Voxar’s cost-effective software-only approach to 3-D image processing is an interesting exception as an alternative to high-priced dedicated 3-D workstations.
Voxar’s software-based solutions, priced from $5,000 to $15,000, seem to rival the performance of workstations costing up to ten times as much and offer single-click image processing functionality that the company states could take up to 45 minutes on dedicated workstations.
Tomorrow the view from the other side, including GE, Fuji, and others.
By Michael J. Cannavo
AuntMinnie.com contributing writer
November 27, 2000
Mr. Cannavo is president of Image Management Consultants, a PACS consulting firm.
Copyright © 2000 AuntMinnie.com
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