The 89th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA 2003) drew nearly 59,000 people to McCormick Place in Chicago, IL from November 30 to December 5, 2003. Of these attendees, nearly 25,500 were professionals, including physicians, technicians, students, and members of the press. More than 27,500 exhibitors displayed products from more than 630 companies.

Vidar introduces new digitizer line

Vidar Systems Corporation (Herndon, VA) used RSNA 2003 to introduce its latest generation of film digitizers. According to the company, the new Advantage product platform was developed to deliver improved image quality, consistency, and repeatability, as well as increased speed and greater "up time."

Developed from the company's "plus" product line, the Advantage platform features the company high-definition charge-coupled device (HD-CCD) technology and Automatic Digitizer Calibration (ADC) feature, with a new look and a modular design. The three digitizers introduced at RSNA were the CAD PRO Advantage, the DiagnosticPRO Advantage, and the DosimetryPRO Advantage.

The CAD PRO Advantage (Figure 1), which was designed specifically for mammography computer-aided detection (CAD), has a scan rate of 200 lines per second or up to 120 films per hour. It accommodates films of 18 × 24 cm and 24 × 30 cm and includes the company's SmartFeeder design. This feature consists of a modular 50- or 100-sheet film feeder that can load mixed-size films at any point during the digitizing process without need for stopping the system. The company also states that the new feeder design eliminates film jams, double feeds, and film pick-up problems.

The DiagnosticPRO Advantage was designed for use with PACS, teleradiology, and orthopedic surgery. At its lowest resolution (1K × 1.25K), it is capable of digitizing a 14-× 17-inch film in 6 seconds. It has a mean time between failure (MTBF) rate of >50,000 hours and can handle a variety of film sizes. It is also capable of providing the high resolution (44.5 microns) required for digitizing mammography films. It also offers larger spot size options for digitizing general radiographic, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR), ultrasound, and nuclear medicine films.

The DosimetryPRO Advantage, designed for use in intensity modulation radiation therapy (IMRT), features a 32-bit data path and a 16bit grayscale. With >65,000 shades of gray and an optical density range of 0.00 to 4.00, the company reports that the system "provides significantly more information in the penumbral regions. This means that dose levels to adjacent tissues can be more accurately measured and that leaf leakages in multileaf collimator (MLC) systems are easier to measure."

All three digitizers include the company's proprietary ADC feature. This software package automatically calibrates the system without user intervention before each film is digitized. Each unit weighs 40 lbs. and measures approximately 19 × 23 × 29 inches with the feeder and exit tray in place. The CAD PRO was designed specifically to fit within a cart-based system.

"While exceptional image quality is paramount, our customers continue to tell us they require maintenance-free digitizers that fit seamlessly into radiology department workflow-improving staff productivity rather than hindering it," said Brian Beardslee, Vice President of Vidar's medical business.

IBM debuts storage management system and new financing program

IBM Corporation (White Plains, NY) unveiled their new integrated storage management solution at RSNA 2003. The IBM Medical Archive Solution consists of disk and tape storage, server systems, and storage management software that have been preconfigured for PACS. The customizable system provides online and nearline image management and offline archiving, with a capacity of up to 80 terabytes (Tb) of storage that can be expanded further on demand.

The IBM TotalStorage FAStT mid-range storage servers provide up to 32.8 Tb of online storage capacity. The available TotalStorage EXP100 Storage Expansion Units each provide up to 2 Tb of additional storage. The system can also be connected to the IBM Enterprise Storage Server.

The IBM TotalStorage Linear Tape-Open system is scalable to 500 Tb and provides nearline archival storage or offline backup storage. The com-pany's Tivoli Storage Manager automates storage tasks and provides hierarchical storage management, migrating data to the most cost-effective storage media on the system.

The system is powered by the IBM eServer pSeries 630 system running UNIX and incorporates the company's POWER4+ microprocessor and self-healing technologies to help guard against and recover from system failure.

"With Tivoli Storage Manager, we can schedule automated, unattended backups, which helps us maintain high availability of critical imaging data," said Rick Faszold, Manager, Technical Services, and PACS Project Manager, St. Anthony's Hospital, St. Louis, MO. "We use this system as a single storage management tool across the enterprise. Despite growing storage volumes, we've been able to maintain current levels of personnel. For PACS, it also helps us meet certain regulations by automating and simplifying the movement of images from disk to tape."

New fi nancing program available

IBM also announced an expansion of its information technology (IT) financing business at RSNA 2003. Under the new terms of the program, healthcare facilities and life sciences and pharmaceutical businesses can now finance not only IBM IT purchases, but also several other medical technology purchases through IBM Global Financing.

Working with the company's Life Sciences sales teams, IBM Global Financing will offer vendor-neutral leasing and financing programs to help customers acquire MRI systems, CT scanners, X-ray systems, gamma cameras, and ultrasound devices.

"Businesses in the healthcare, life sciences, and pharmaceutical industries now can acquire complete solutions from IBM and its business part-ners-from the IT infrastructure they need to the sophisticated medical technology that can provide the best care-all with little or no up-front investment," said Peter Matthews, General Manager, Emerging Markets Strategy & Global Asset Recovery Services, IBM Global Financing.

IBM also announced that it has expanded its asset disposition services to assist customers in acquiring refurbished medical technology or to remarket their older technology.

NEC previews new display line

NEC-Mitsubishi Electronics Display (Itasca, IL) previewed a new line of color and grayscale LCD monitors for diagnostic applications. The MultiSync MD series displays (Figure 2) feature backlight technology and provide adjustable white points for matching in multimonitor configurations. The included proprietary GammaComp internal circuitry is a 10-bit gamma correction process that allows the user to set custom display settings for gamma and white point and to access self-diagnostic and calibration data. The monitors also include a built-in calibrator, providing the ability to generate test patterns, perform self-calibration, and store calibration data within the internal memory.

The displays, which are expected to be available this summer, will come in both color and grayscale models in both 2- and 3-megapixel (MP) configurations.

Philips introduces new line of multislice CT

Philips Medical Systems, a division of Royal Philips Electronics (Best, the Netherlands), introduced its new line of multislice CT scanners, the Brilliance CT line, featuring its new 40-slice CT scanner, at RSNA 2003.

According to the company, the Brilliance 40 "provides clinicians with in-depth information nearly 3 times faster than any other multislice scanner. Its additional coverage and acquisition speed create a new realm of clinical applications for CT, including enhanced organ perfusion studies, coronary artery imaging, pulmonary imaging, and critical care."

The new line also includes a new high-end 16-slice scanner, the Brilliance 16 Power configuration, as well as new 6-slice, 10-slice, and 16-slice scanners. Each configuration is fully upgradeable and includes the company's user interface, the Brilliance Workspace, which was designed specifically for use with multislice CT.

"The challenge today in multislice CT is helping customers leverage all the possible value," said Jim Green, President of the Philips CT business in the United States. "The key benefit of multislice CT is in its usefulness, not only in terms of what the technology can do, but also how easily the systems work and produce clinical benefits. Our approach is to work closely with our clinical partners to help them get the most out of multislice imaging."

Vital Images introduces latest version of Vitrea 2

Vital Images, Inc. (Plymouth, MN) debuted the latest version of its flagship Vitrea 2 software.

Vitrea 2 Version 3.4 features automated tools for examining vasculature and improved DICOM connectivity. The new Vessel Probe option provides one-click vessel analysis of contrast-enhanced CT and MR imaging studies, allowing for noninvasive visualization and assessment of obstructive vascular disease. The feature allows the user to perform segmentation and cross-sectional imaging, as well as curved reformatted viewing of the vessels.

The enhanced connectivity feature allows users to access the software at multiple locations throughout the enterprise. "With our new concurrent licensing capabilities, radiologists will now be able to access a single Vitrea software license from their institution's reading rooms, private offices, and other locations within a secure local area network," said Jay D. Miller, company President and CEO.

The latest version also includes new image compression capabilities for reduced network bandwidth and storage requirements and integrates the ImageChecker CT LN-500 from R2 Technology, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) for lung nodule assessment.