Kodak Unveils New Products at ECR 2001

Eastman Kodak Company's Health Imaging Division (Rochester, NY) unveiled several products at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) Annual Conference in Vienna, Austria, March 2-6, 2001, including its full radiology workflow system for capture, storage and use of images and information. The Kodak solutions concept combines Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) and Radiology Information Systems (RIS) in a modular integrated system.

During the ECR Conference Jane Guinn, Regional Sales General Manager Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand said, "With the recent acquisition of Computer Knowledge Inc. (CKI), a RIS provider, we can now provide an innovative fused PACS/RIS system. This week here at the ECR we are displaying Kodak's full digital imaging workflow solutions from PACS and RIS, to reporting and image distribution via web technology."

In addition, Kodak displayed the range of DryView Laser Imagers and the new DirectView DR System that allows for image preview within 10 seconds after exposure with a cycle time of 35 seconds. The DirectView DR System uses an amorphous selenium detector array that converts X-rays directly into electronic signals, requiring no intensifying screens, intermediate steps, or additional equipment.

CAD Mammography Usage on the Rise

More than 1 million women worldwide have had their mammograms interpreted with the aid of the ImageChecker, Computer Aided Detection (CAD) System, according to an announcement by R2 Technology, Inc. (Los Altos, CA), at ERC 2001.

"With more than one million women benefitting from their mammograms being interpreted with the aid of the ImageChecker annually, we really can make a difference in early detection," said Michael Klein, president and CEO, R2 Technology. "Our clinical trials, in addition to other independent studies, demonstrated that the ImageChecker software increases breast cancer detection rates by up to 20.5 percent. This data shows that, for every five cancers detected, a sixth one could be detected when CAD software is used as an aid to analyze mammograms."

In December 2000, the U.S. Congress passed the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000, providing incremental reimbursement of $15 for film-based screening mammograms when new technology, like the CAD system, is used. The $15 reimbursement amount became effective April 1, 2001.

Legislation Aimed at Making Mammography Coverage Mandatory

The Mammogram Availability Act of 2001 (HR 292), introduced by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) would make coverage of screening mammography mandatory for all public and private health plans.

The bill would require all health plans that already cover diagnostic mammography to also cover annual screening mammograms for women aged 40 years and older. In addition, it prohibits insurers from denying coverage for annual screening mammography on the basis that the procedure is not medically necessary or not referred.

"The decision whether or not to have a mammogram should be made by a woman in consultation with her doctor on the basis of medical concerns--not by a bureaucrat on the basis of cost," said Nadler.

The legislation has been referred to the appropriate committees and bipartisan support is expected.

Mobile Platform Supports Bluetooth Wireless Technology

PatientKeeper, Inc. (Brighton, MA) demonstrated the first mobile healthcare platform to support Bluetooth wireless technology at the recent Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Conference.

Bluetooth wireless technology allows users of handheld devices to communicate with other devices enabled by this technology, such as PDAs, PCs, cell phones, printers, and network access points, all without the use of cables and synchronization cradles, or the use of line-of-site technologies.

Developed by a consortium of technology vendors, including Palm, Intel, and Nokia, Bluetooth wireless technology provides high-speed, ad hoc communications connections with a range of up to 100 meters, or about 300 feet, as well as built-in encryption and authentication.

In Brief...

Mitsubishi Imaging Products (Irvine, CA) recently introduced the P-91DW Digital Monochrome Printer. It has an 8 MB memory and can print up to six different image sizes and multiples of four different pictures per sheet. Resolution is 1026 * 786 pixels and 256 gray scale levels and print speed is 3.8 seconds. AR