Agfa HealthCare's upcoming entry into the integrated RIS/PACS domain was among the highlights for the vendor in its booth at the 2002 RSNA meeting.
As part of this strategy, the Mortsel, Belgium-based vendor will be bringing the QDoc radiology information system from Agfa unit Quadrat Medical Software Solutions to the U.S. market, said Lenny Reznik, senior marketing manager for radiology informatics, Americas.
Quadrat of St. Martens-Latem, Belgium, is well known in Europe and has an installed base of over 160 facilities. QDoc will need to be refined to meet the workflow needs of the U.S. marketplace, however, with changes necessary in privacy and security, billing, and language, Reznik said.
In addition to integrated RIS/PACS situations, Agfa also plans to offer the RIS in a stand-alone configuration. Agfa is installing an integrated RIS/PACS at Atlantic Health Science Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with launch expected in early 2003.
Other installations have already been completed at sites in Europe and Australia over the past 15 months. General availability of the combined RIS/PACS offering is planned for the fourth quarter of 2003.
Agfa also showed an optional enterprise scheduling option for QDoc, as well as version 4.1 of its Web 1000 image distribution software. Web 1000 4.1, scheduled for release in the second quarter of 2003, includes enhancements such as support for cardiology, MPEG images, and an electronic patient record integration module, Reznik said.
New and expanded third-party PACS relationships were also among key developments for Agfa this year. The firm signed a co-marketing agreement with IS firm AccessPt. of Ridgeland, MS, which offers a browser-based software package for access to data and information from multiple, back-end hospital information systems. Users will be able to view patient information, including images, through local or remote PCs, as well as PDAs, Agfa said.
In addition, Agfa said that it will integrate EMC's Centera content-addressed storage offering with Impax. Centera is a software-driven storage architecture designed for fixed content such as medical images, and the product will add additional scalability and performance to Impax, according to the vendor.
Agfa has also signed a co-marketing agreement with archiving services provider InSiteOne, which will provide offsite storage and disaster-recovery services to Agfa customers. The firm's relationship with application service provider Inphact also remains in place for customers interested in an ASP-powered digital image management network, Reznik said.
Agfa demonstrated work-in-progress integration with 3-D software from Scottish firm Voxar. In speech recognition, Agfa focused on Talk Technology's small-business edition, which would be of interest to imaging centers, Reznik said.
Digital x-ray news
To help small and medium-sized hospitals and clinics move to digital imaging, the firm debuted Initia, a modular line of computed radiography systems scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2003.
The Initia CR 1000 basic system comes with a CR unit, PC, and network switch, and is targeted at facilities that already have a printer. The next option in the line includes a Drystar 3000 printer in addition to the CR system, PC, and network switch. Agfa is marketing the product to users who prefer 1:1 images and full-size thoracic images.
The third offering in the product line provides a Drystar 4500 printer along with the other components. The company is pointing this system toward users who are comfortable with smaller images and want a lower-priced print option.
The final configuration in the Initia suite includes an Impax Basix entry-level PACS in addition to the CR, PC, and network switch. The Greenville, SC-based firm is touting this model as a robust solution for small to mid-sized facilities that want to make the first move from film to digital imaging.
Agfa also unveiled ADC QS 2.1, a software suite for its ADC CR QS system. The upgrade will allow the workstation to achieve the same functionality of the Unix system VIPS through a Windows interface, Agfa said.
QS 2.1 includes study-oriented workflow capability, allowing for sorting of images based on programmed parameters. Other features include online quality control, full leg/full spine software, and toolkit software to link the ADC ID station with the RIS or HIS. Dose monitoring and automatic QC software is also available.
The vendor also scored a big OEM supply deal at the show. Agfa announced it would supply Siemens Medical Solutions of Malvern, PA, with its CR, dry imagers, and film handling systems.
Embrace
Agfa emphasized its family of women’s care solutions under the brand name Embrace. Embrace includes film-screen mammography systems, film processing, and dry imagers. In the future, Agfa plans to also incorporate CR, digital mammography, and PACS technology into Embrace.
Agfa discussed Embrace DM1000, a work-in-progress digital mammography system developed in collaboration with partner Hologic of Bedford, MA. Embrace PACS is a work-in-progress women's care digital image management system that includes the vendor's Impax technology and Drystar 4500M dry imager. Availability is scheduled for 2004.
In other key introductions, Agfa launched Drystar 5500, a multiformat imager that can produce up to 100 14 x 17-inch films per hour. Suitable for ultrasound, CR, DR, MRI, digital subtraction angiography, CT, and radiography/fluoroscopy images, Drystar 5500 should be considered an option for centralized printing applications, Agfa said. Delivery is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2003.
In other news, Agfa has received a $5 million agreement for phase II of an Impax implementation at the University of California, San Diego. Phase II will include Agfa's ADC CR, a spinning disk archive, additional Impax diagnostic and clinical workstations, Talk Technology's TalkStation speech recognition systems, and Drystar dry imagers.
Agfa has also named Philippe Houssiau as head of sales and service. Houssiau, who comes to Agfa from PricewaterhouseCoopers, will have responsibility for the global sales and service organization of the firm's informatics and imaging business units.
By Erik L. Ridley
AuntMinnie.com staff writer
December 6, 2002
Related Reading
Agfa, InSiteOne form co-marketing deal, December 1, 2002
PACS firms integrate, broaden product lines, November 18, 2002
Agfa upgrades Impax for Cardiology, November 18, 2002
Agfa Technical Imaging sales edge higher, November 14, 2002
Kodak sues Agfa for film patent infringement, November 5, 2002
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