What’s on show at RSNA?

Improving workflow and linking images to other sources of healthcare information are the focus of vendors heading for the Radiological Society of North America’s annual meeting next week.

At the giant conference and exhibition in Chicago, Carestream plans to show new versions – described as a “work in progress” – of both its Vue picture archiving and communications system and of its Vue radiological information system.

But the principal new feature is greater integration between the two. Users will be able to include links within the report to key image data, thus merging images into the reporting workflow – something that Carestream says will “revolutionise” the traditional reporting process.

Taking note of the increasing trend towards remote reporting, Carestream is also offering an optional teleradiology module that will give remote radiologists access to prior exams and will automatically send radiology reports to the requesting facility.

The new RIS offers customised reporting, critical results tracking and peer reviews, and a worklist that can be tailored to meet workflow needs. It also supports the transition to the new ICD-10 coding system issued by the World Health Organisation.

Systems to do it all

RSNA will also see Agfa launching an upgrade to IMPAX Agility, its imaging productivity solution. Again, the key message is integration.

The new version, the company says, “redesigns capabilities typically found in a radiology information system, multi-department picture archiving and communication system, voice recognition reporting and connectivity into a single system.”

Agfa will also display the latest version of its MUSICA image processing software which, it says, will offer improvements in workflow efficiencies, image quality and dose management.

GE Healthcare will have a number of products on show, including Xeleris, its processing and review workstation software, which will enable nuclear medicine clinicians to gain access to specific image results whenever they need them.

Xeleris includes an open application that will work with any PACS and the GE AW Server workstation environment.

McKesson will be displaying its suite of radiology and cardiology solutions. These include McKesson Enterprise Image Repository, which archives and manages imaging data from multiple medical imaging systems, and McKesson Enterprise Image Clinical Reference Viewer, which enables users to view images from any operating system.

McKesson QICS is designed to improve communication by providing a comprehensive view of healthcare workflow and correspondence, while the web-based McKesson Study Share software enables radiologists to organise and share images, teaching files and reference case information.

Systems to store it

BridgeHead Software, which specialises in integration and data management, will be announcing the introduction of new de-duplication software.

This will be built into the backup software for any of its own range of agents, a virtual de-duplication appliance to avoid the need for new storage, and support for HP StoreOnce de-duplication storage. The functionality will reduce storage needs for managed by a ratio of 20:1, BridgeHead says.

Philips will showcase its IntelliSpace family of products. These include the IntelliSpace portal, a thin client, vendor-neutral product that provides advanced visualisation for multiple modalities, and IntelliSpace PACS, a managed service offering that enables clinicians to take advantage of upgrades when they become available, at no additional cost.

Also on display will be its AlluraClarity live image guidance system, which, the company says, offers high-quality imaging while maintaining low radiation dosage levels.

Siemens is not revealing any of its product announcements beforehand, but it will be delivering lectures on pioneering technologies in ultrasound and innovations in MRI, and formal scientific presentations on molecular imaging.