Agfa puts RSNA focus on CR and DR

Nov 1, 2009

At this year's RSNA meeting in Chicago, look for Agfa HealthCare of Greenville, SC, to highlight advances in both flavors of digital x-ray, computed radiography (CR) and digital radiography (DR), as well as new developments for its Impax image management software.

In DR, Agfa is planning to make the North American launch of the DX-D 500n and DX-D 300 DR systems, both of which will be shown as works-in-progress pending U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance. The units are designed for general radiography exams, according to the company, and offer real-time image preview and fast cycle times.

DX-D 500n is a ceiling/wall-mounted system, while DX-D 300 comes in a single-detector U-arm configuration. Both units come with Agfa's NX workstation and Musica2 image processing protocols, as well as a look-and-feel that's similar to the company's CR line.

In CR, Agfa will launch DX-G, a next-generation CR system designed for flexibility in general radiography exams. The system supports studies within general radiology, extremities, neonatal, and pediatric applications, with the flexibility of handling both standard storage-phosphor imaging plates and needle-based detectors.

DX-G consists of a single compact system, with a small footprint and five-cassette drop-and-go buffer to improve workflow. The unit is ideal for siting within an x-ray room or in small spaces in the radiology department, the company said.

Also look for Agfa to tout CR 30-X, the company's dedicated CR system for smaller facilities. As works-in-progress, Agfa will show applications for digital mammography, pediatric, and neonatal exams.

On the Impax software side of the house, a major highlight will be Agfa's Impax Data Center, which the company will tout as playing a key role in the creation of an image-enabled electronic medical record. Impax Data Center provides large-scale multimedia storage for all DICOM-based medical images and diagnostic results, and can unite disparate image management systems with a single point of storage, Agfa said.

New developments include Impax Mobility Enterprise Visualization, a clinical imaging visualization system built for ubiquitous access to a patient's longitudinal imaging record held in Impax Data Center, and Impax Data Center Viewer, powered by Xero, a work-in-progress viewer technology. The viewer is a zero-download medical imaging viewer developed to provide access to imaging information for clinicians at any point of care regardless of network constraints, according to the company.

For the company's flagship Impax 6 software, look for Agfa to highlight its Impax RIS/PACS/Reporting functionality, which handles radiology workflow from order management through results distribution.

Highlights of the software include intelligent worklist read-ahead workflow; advanced visualization enhancements including image registration and fusion, volume viewing, and orthopedics; improvements in results distribution to referring physicians; better communication tools for important results, such as instant messaging and voice clips; and features for automatically linking like series within a study.

Finally, Impax for Digital Mammography is a workstation that supports all breast imaging modalities, and routes relevant data based on user-definable criteria, while Impax Cardiovascular is designed for cardiac practices, with full-fidelity final reports and support for graphs and resting and stress electrocardiograms.

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