PACS firms integrate, broaden product lines, Part IV

TeraMedica
Booth #2972
This enterprise storage developer will shine a spotlight on TeraMedica Intelligent Image Manager (TI2m). TI2m captures, stores, and distributes multimodality DICOM image data for a range of clinical specialties, and allows customers to leverage their existing storage infrastructure, according to the Milwaukee-based vendor.

The software also provides for the integration of image data with electronic medical record systems, disease management systems, and other hospital systems, TeraMedica said. By taking advantage of its "intelligent" image management features, users can integrate image data into the workflow and decision support process for the entire enterprise, the firm said.

Suitable for hospitals, integrated delivery networks, and imaging centers, TI2m will be released on November 14, TeraMedica said.

TeraRecon
Booth #1114
TeraRecon of San Mateo, CA, will show Personal Digital Light Box (PDLB), which was initially introduced at the 2002 Symposium for Computer Applications in Radiology. Marketed as a digital display replacement for the conventional film light box, PDLB allows clinicians to use their PCs to perform interactive 2-D and 3-D image review, according to the vendor.

PDLB's 15-inch, three-megapixel flat-panel LCDs can be set up in 2x2, 4x2, or 8x2 configurations, allowing for total display resolution of six, 12, or 24 megapixels. PDLB, which is driven by the firm's AquariusNet imaging server, can be wall-mounted to save space, TeraRecon said.

Toshiba America Medical Systems
Booth #7729
The Tustin, CA-based vendor will again show its SimPACS digital image management portfolio in its booth. SimPACS features Agfa's Impax Basix PACS software.

Another offering, SimPACS UL is a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) that allows for network connections in multiple locations, Toshiba said.

Trillium Technology
Booth #1874 (Fujitsu)
Trillium will introduce version 3.0 of its ShowCase clinical case presentation tools. The Ann Arbor, MI-based firm has added a number of features to the DICOM viewer, including the ability to view stress echo images and export multiple, synchronized stress echo clips to a single AVI file that can play in PowerPoint.

In addition, a new option allows for instant export of AVI and BMP files directly from the viewer into PowerPoint slides. Trillium said it has also improved de-identification functionality in the viewer. Version 3.0 is scheduled for release in December.

UltraVisual Medical Systems
Booth #2365
This PACS firm will be showing its thin-client-based VisualPACS enterprise image management offering, which features voice clips and IHE-based key images, presentation states, and structured report distribution.

The Madison, WI-based firm has also included paper report scanning, JPEG image importing, and clipboard copy functionality. Image printing and enhanced protocols are also on the new feature list for this year. Real-time MPR, 3-D, and scalable archiving are additional highlights of VisualPACS, according to the company.

Vidar Systems
Booth #8344
The Herndon, VA-based digitizer manufacturer will unwrap CAD Pro, a system designed specifically with computer-aided detection in mind. CAD Pro will be targeted at the mammography marketplace, with availability to be announced.

VitalWorks
Booth #2765
Healthcare information systems provider VitalWorks will debut Ingenuity, a browser-based radiology practice management system. Ingenuity allows for management of functions such as charge capture and review, patient and insurance billing, and EDI services. It can also support accounts receivable and collections activity, according to the Ridgefield, CT-based firm.

A platform-independent system, Ingenuity includes an HL7 interface and can be deployed in either an ASP or practice-hosted configuration, VitalWorks said. It interfaces with most RIS networks, including the vendor's RadConnect RIS and Replica document imaging system. VitalWorks expects Ingenuity will begin shipping in the first quarter of 2003.

Voxar
Booth #8541
This Scottish 3-D software developer is announcing a rebranding of its flagship product, Plug n View 3D. The product will now be known as Voxar 3D, and Voxar will also show recent upgrades made to the software in its RSNA booth.

Voxar 3D features an improved task-based user interface designed to direct clinical workflow and make it easier to perform multiplanar reformatting (MPR) and 3-D functions. A 3-D targeted-review mode improves 3-D navigation, according to the company, by showing the volume of interest in a 3-D cube that tracks the movement of the MPR crosshairs. This allows users to visualize and review complex internal structures and pathology without the need for segmentation.

A new auto-refine segmentation feature separates selections of tissues with similar densities, facilitating the separation of bone from blood vessels in contrast-enhanced studies, and making it easier to create maximum intensity projections (MIPs), according to the company.

Voxar has also added a 3-D color volume-rendered slab to MPR screens. The use of volume rendering in the MPR screen enables radiologists to easily visualize and distinguish closely related vessels and anatomical structures.

In addition to Voxar 3D, the company will demonstrate its Voxar Colonscreen 2.2 software for virtual colonoscopy studies, and Voxar Calscreen 2.1 for cardiac screening.

XIMIS
Booth #8303
Version 4.0 of the firm's eXtended Internet Radiology Information System (XIRIS) will be the focus at the El Paso, TX-based vendor's booth this year. A Web-based application, XIRIS can manage patient registration, exam tracking, study scheduling, staff management, reporting, and statistics, XIMIS said.

XIRIS 4.0. includes a teleradiology system as well as a remote scheduling and report viewing capability. The company has also incorporated mammography tracking, DICOM worklist management, and a HL7 broker for HIS and PACS integration. XIRIS 4.0 is available in several languages and is customizable to different country standards.

Go to page:
AETmed to eRad/Image Medical
Ferrania to Misys
NAI to StorComm
TeraMedica to Ximis

By Erik L. Ridley
AuntMinnie.com staff writer
November 18, 2002

Copyright © 2002 AuntMinnie.com

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