CHICAGO - Healthcare imaging and IT vendor Eastman Kodak Health Group of Rochester, NY, is emphasizing a new digital radiography (DR) system in its RSNA booth, and is also showing a work-in-progress computed radiography (CR) mammography system that is entering the final phases of U.S. regulatory review.
DR
DirectView DR 9500 is a new DR system that includes many of the features found in the company's DR 7500 system, but that employs a ceiling-mounted U-arm design that incorporates both the tube and detector for increased mobility and operational flexibility, according to the company.
The system's design can boost the productivity of radiologic technologists by giving them extra convenience in positioning patients, according to Kodak. For example, RTs can capture images of the right and left side of the body without moving patients.
DR 9500's U-arm features two operator interfaces, allowing technologists to change x-ray generator parameters without leaving patients or the exam room. Patient data from a RIS or HIS can be transferred via DICOM to either the operator interfaces or the system's console. The system also employs an autopositioning feature that moves the system into a preprogrammed position for the next exam.
The system also includes support for both manual and motorized movement, while an "intelligent motion" feature enables greater flexibility and efficiency during positioning, according to the company.
DR 9500 shares the same image processing software found on other Kodak DR systems, as well as 17 x 17-inch detectors from Trixell of Moirans, France, which feature a 143-micron pixel size. The system is scheduled to be available worldwide in the second quarter of 2007.
Kodak is also highlighting its DirectView DR 7500 system, which is a dual-detector unit in a table and wall-stand configuration, and DR 3000, a more economical U-arm system for small hospitals and clinics.
CR
CR-based mammography became a hot topic in the U.S. in 2006, and Kodak is giving RSNA attendees at look at what it is planning to introduce in the U.S. once its premarket approval (PMA) application is approved.
Kodak has been marketing a CR-based mammography unit in Europe, Australia, Latin America, Asia, and other parts of the world for more than a year as an option on its DirectView CR 850, CR 950, and CR 975 systems, and has installed some 900 CR mammography units since the systems began shipping internationally. Mammography CR is in the final phases of regulatory review with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the company said.
Kodak is talking up with 50-micron resolution of its technology, and is also showing a new EHR-M2 screen for use with CR mammography.
CAD
Kodak is highlighting the expansion of its computer-aided detection (CAD) activities. The company is migrating the software to new mammography acquisition technologies, and is also expanding into clinical applications beyond the breast.
Kodak currently markets its internally developed CAD software for film-based mammography, and this week is showing as a work-in-progress CAD for full-field digital mammography (FFDM) units from GE Healthcare of Chalfont St. Giles, U.K. and Siemens Medical Solutions of Malvern, PA. The company expects to begin shipping FFDM CAD in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2007.
Kodak is planning to offer CAD software for CR mammography in Europe and other parts of the world in the first quarter of 2007, and the company is highlighting the application as a work-in-progress for customers from the U.S. and Canada in its RSNA booth. The company plans to highlight the advantage of an integrated system for image capture and CAD for CR mammography once both products are cleared.
Kodak also offers CAD software from other vendors on its CareStream Multi-Modality Breast Imaging Workstation, such as a breast MRI application from Confirma of Kirkland, WA, and the B-CAD breast ultrasound software from Cedara Software of Mississauga, Ontario. Kodak is highlighting how the integration of these applications into its mammography workstation can facilitate the reading and interpretation of CAD results along with the viewing of original breast studies.
Kodak is also expanding its CAD activities beyond mammography and into lung imaging with chest radiography studies, with software scheduled to begin shipping to China in early 2007, where all adults receive annual chest screening x-rays.
The company is also working on integrating bone mineral density testing software from CompuMed of Los Angeles that analyzes digital radiography images. The company is showing the application as a work-in-progress with its DirectView DR 3000 system, and also hopes to offer BMD testing to women using hand x-rays taken by mammography systems when they are undergoing breast screening studies.
Finally, ICU-CAD is a CAD application designed to help physicians in intensive care units quickly visualize devices such as tubes in trauma patients. ICU-CAD is being shown as a work-in-progress.
IT
In the area of healthcare IT, Kodak is showing upgrades and enhancements to its CareStream software, including its CareStream PACS and CareStream RIS applications.
Kodak's newest version of CareStream PACS, version 10.1, is being designed to support what the company calls "workflow grid computing," which is designed to provide efficient management of distributed storage systems and rapid delivery of archived data to any review location throughout an enterprise using a shared infrastructure, according to the company.
Workflow grid computing can enable sites to use a synchronized global worklist and exam reporting to all sites, enabling each site to work independently of the network or off a centralized server if necessary. Data can be retrieved from a secondary data center if the primary data center goes offline due to an equipment failure or natural disaster.
Other new features of Kodak's latest PACS software upgrade include dynamic streaming capabilities to reduce the need for large bandwidth connections for large image files such as 3D studies, and optional digital dictation, speech recognition, and reporting functions for facilities that don't have integrated radiology information systems.
The upcoming upgrade for Kodak's RIS software will include an outpatient practice management system that includes patient scheduling, radiologist interpretation, report distribution, management reporting, and billing. The system is designed to enable imaging centers to handle all aspects of patient workflow, from verifying insurance eligibility to handling claims submission and posting payments from payors.
In future developments for the CareStream platform, Kodak plans to offer a dashboard that will enable PACS administrators and users to monitor workload status from any location, and modify workload to fit current needs. The company also plans to offer support for PET/CT and CT volume matching as native applications.
By Brian Casey
AuntMinnie.com staff writer
November 28, 2006
Copyright © 2006 AuntMinnie.com
