Advanced Viz Adds a Whole New Dimension
The developers of advanced visualization applications are providing technologies for the visualization of images to achieve efficiencies that will meet the demands of an ever-larger volume of image data both in number of procedures and data. At RSNA, look for streamlined, more integrated thin-client solutions. 3mensio Medical Imaging (Booth 5750) is featuring demonstrations of 3viseon 3D imaging software and its 3viseon Imaging Workstation for radiologists.
The 3viseon 3D imaging software, as well as its 3viseon Imaging Workstation, displays CT and MRI datasets as 3D reconstructions using PC technology. The 3D imaging software can be integrated into existing PACS applications.
The firm also offers a Stereoscopy configuration, using StereoMirror display technology from Planar Systems. The workstation also has an optional vascular package for analysis of CT angiography or MR angiography exams.
Aycan Medical Systems (Booth 6903) is introducing its aycan workstation OsiriX Pro.
The FDA-cleared aycan workstation OsiriX Pro offers a 2D viewer, 3D viewer, 4D viewer, and a 5D viewer. The 3D viewer offers multi-planar reconstruction (MPR), surface rendering, volume rendering, and maximum intensity projection (MIP). All modes support 4D data and are able to produce image fusion between two different series.
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| Barco: Voxar 3D Enterprise |
The Voxar 3D suite 6.3 has a set of integrated clinical applications, including Voxar 3D ColonMetrix for CT colonography and Voxar 3D PET/CT Fusion.
Voxar 3D ColonMetrix provides graphics processing unit (GPU)-accelerated automatic centerline finding. An integrated gravity function keeps the camera position aligned with the scanner table.
Voxar 3D PET/CT Fusion supports the interpretation and real-time interaction of whole-body PET/CT images. In addition, it provides automated workflow for hotspot triangulation and calculation and display of standardized uptake values.
Both ColonMetrix and PET/CT Fusion feature Live Images “saved-state” functionality that allows users to save a case and return to it to begin reading where they left off.
The Voxar 3D Enterprise solution delivers access to advanced visualization throughout the enterprise by taking advantage of client-server technology and commonly available high-performance GPUs.
The firm says it can provide custom-designed 3D and 4D platforms that can be integrated into a variety of modalities.
Carestream Health (Booth 2513) is demonstrating the 3D processing capabilities of its Kodak Carestream PACS.
The Carestream PACS platform delivers 2D and 3D capabilities, including MIP, MinIP (minimum intensity projection), MPR, volume rendering, tissue definition and vessel tracking through dynamic streaming capabilities.
The system offers integrated Siemens Medical Solutions’ Fusion7D software for visualization of cancerous tumors and lesions. Fusion7D creates a composite image by overlaying image data from PET, CT, SPECT and MR systems for visualization of anatomic and metabolic information.
Cedara Software (Booth 1316) is showcasing new imaging tools as technologies and concepts. Some of these include:
- Advanced segmentation technology, including libraries for lesion contouring in ultrasound, CT and MRI.
- Mammography Skinline detection for mammography images and inverse rendering.
- Image Enhancement offers x-ray workflow improvement with image enhancement, auto-stitching, and shutter detection and removal.
- Registration technology for clinical packages that require rigid or deformable registration.
- Cedara ISG is able to serve up 2D and 3D compressed images over the web.
- A thin-client G6 viewer work in progress that can run on Windows, Linux and Macintosh in standard browsers.
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| Emageon: RadSuite Express 3D imaging tools |
RadSuite Express provides smaller facilities access to the same 3D imaging tools used by specialists in large facilities.
Exxim Computing (Booth 8931) is displaying COBRA 6.0, its Cone Beam Reconstruction software.
Exxim has ported part of its algorithm onto the NVidia GeForce8800GTX graphic card, which boosts reconstruction speed.
Exxim has added a correction for typical Feldkamp artifacts, which show up at large cone angles in asymmetric detector configurations.
The firm is debuting an optional visualization module comprising volume rendering, MIP, MPR and analysis tools via a network.
These features are now available for end-users and OEM partners using COBRA software development kit libraries.
Fujifilm Medical Systems USA (Booth 1129) is demonstrating future extensions to its distributed 3D software, including PET/CT fusion capabilities. Work-in-progress advancements to existing diagnostic MIP/MPR capabilities also are being displayed.
In the area of full-field digital mammography, Fuji is featuring advanced visualization advances for its Synapse digital mammography system.
GE Healthcare (Booth 1729) is demonstrating PET VCAR as well as Lung VCAR.
PET Volume Computer-Assisted Reading (VCAR) optimizes tumor management, allowing for early quantification of treatment effectiveness for optimal treatment planning. It identifies, delineates and quantifies areas of increased metabolic activity in PET/CT scans, and provides registration capabilities for comparison of tumor response over time.
Lung VCAR offers the capability to find, isolate and measure lung nodules over time. It automatically highlights, isolates, and analyzes lung nodules, comparing the measurements to previous results.
Median Technologies (Booth 8548) is unveiling its LMS-Lung/Track and LMS Liver applications. They segment user identifies lesions and measure key characteristics such as volume and longest axial diameters. They automatically pair the lesions in follow-up exams, compute their growth and doubling time and generate RECIST-criteria reports.
LMS-Lung/Track and LMS-Liver support chest or liver images acquired on any multidetector CT, and can be integrated with modality or PACS/RIS workstations.
Medis Medical Imaging Systems (Booth 7032) is introducing QBrain MR and QPlaque MR software.
QBrain features manual and automatic 3D registration, manual and automatic segmentation and calculation of brain volumes and lesions, and multiple time-point analysis. QBrain has received FDA clearance and is expected to be available worldwide in the fourth quarter 2007.
QPlaque MR post-processes multi-spectral MR images and provides tools for semi-automatically determining the boundaries of vessel, lumen, and plaque components; calculating vessel wall and plaque volumes; and measuring the thickness of the vessel wall and the fibrous cap. Medis expects QPlaque MR to be available worldwide in the first quarter 2008.
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| MIMvista: MIM4.1 software |
MIM4.1’s MIMcontouring Advanced provides automatic atlas-based deformable contouring and adaptive re-contouring using the VoxAlign Deformation Engine.
Therapy Response Tools include automatic registration, PET tumor segmentation, contour propagation, and RECIST/WHO calculations across time points.
In addition, the firm is highlighting its MIM Extensions, which provide a programming interface for customizable functionalities.
Philips Medical Systems (Booth 4129) is unveiling its iSite Volume Vision and iSite 3.6 and 4.1 advanced visualization tools.
The iSite 3.6 and 4.1 advanced visualization tools feature MIP/MPR/3D volume rendering, on-demand task guidance, and a simplified user interface.
The iSite Volume Vision features task-guided segmentation and classification tools, merging and color mapping of CT and MR datasets, and the capability for protocol-based and freestyle movie generation and capture.
Philips anticipates general market availability of the products during the first quarter 2008.
Rendoscopy (Booth 4787) is demonstrating its new angiography and virtual colonoscopy applications.
The angiography tool provides automated segmentation of the entire vessel tree, automated track finding and analysis, automated curved MPR with 2D and 3D image correlation, and volume and surface rendering of segmented vessels.
A 3D virtual colonoscopy solution facilities can handle up to 1,000 cases per day without manual interaction. A multi-path tracking system automatically displays the number of tracks entered in the application preferences, while a single screen displays cross-sectional information.
ScImage (Booth 2551) is spotlighting the advanced visualization software in PicomEnterprise which can conpare datasets of more than 4,000 images. ScImage users can conduct interactive MPR, oblique slicing, and sliding MIPs using axial datasets. Applications for calcified plaque analysis and CT/MR angiography also are available.
Siemens Medical Solutions (Booth 7713) is showcasing its syngo TrueD application for RIS, PACS, post-processing and image distribution.
The syngo TrueD 3Dapplication provides image analysis and comparison. It enables reading of multimodality patient scans from multiple time points, including PET/CT, SPECT/CT as well as the fusion of CT or MR with PET or SPECT images.
TeraRecon (Booth 7762) is debuting its Aquarius iNtuition thin-client platform.
TeraRecon is showcasing clinical innovations for iNtuition including:
- Support for dual-energy CT scanning
- Automatic anatomy identification and labeling
- CT/PET fusion with automatic registration
- Fusion for blood pooling MR contrast agents
- Parametric mapping for time-dependent MRI
- CT/CT angiography registration and subtraction for “CT-dual subtraction angiography”
- Full cardiovascular clinical workup capabilities on a thin client
Viatronix (Booth 3303) is introducing the V3D-Colon application and a V3D-Cardiac module.
V3D-Colon features the capability to load any two colon image series for review and comparison; provides a view of the dissected colon segment without distortion or flattening; and deliver a colon CAD interface that integrates MedicSight’s CAD.
V3D-Colon has automatic measurement of maximum diameter/volume of polyps with morphology analysis; a set of user-editable translucent view color schemes, and enables C-RADs guideline complaint reports.
The V3D-Cardiac module allows coronary and functional analysis.
Visage Imaging (Booth 2591) is highlighting Visage Cardiac Analysis, a thin-client cardiac CT application.
Visage Cardiac Analysis includes tools such as calcium scoring, myocardial segmentation, wall thickening computation, and improved reporting and editing.
Visage is demonstrating its integrated Visage PACS/CS thin-client solution with tools for 2D, 3D, and 4D image review and interpretation, post-processing, data management, and image distribution. The product also features tools for radiology, cardiology, neurology, oncology, surgery, and other subspecialties.
Vital Images (Booth 6520) is showcasing its Vitrea 4.0 and VitalConnect 4.1 advanced visualization systems and Vital EP, a new electrophysiology (EP) planning application.
The Vitrea 4.0 workstation-client release includes cardiovascular workflow improvements such as automatic segmentation and probing of the coronary tree, vessel management and labeling, centerline editing and reporting with automatic population of findings.
Neurovascular improvements include motion correction and simultaneous multislice computation for 4D perfusion for stroke patients.
Colon enhancements such as fly-through capabilities, polyp probe and automatic registration of prone and supine also are included.
VitalConnect 4.1 has new cardiovascular tools, including automatic segmentation of the coronary tree, centerline editing, automatic stenosis calculation, improved 2D performance, and integrated reporting.
Vital EP contains a 3D advanced visualization and modeling tool that automatically segments pulmonary veins and creates a 3D anatomic heart model for superimposed EP mapping.
Ziosoft (Booth 8951) is showcasing its FDA-cleared Ziostation 3D visualization and analysis software. Ziostation provides advanced volumetric imaging tools and intelligent clinical tools, including automatic segmentation, multi-data fusion, coronary analysis, and colon analysis.
Ziostation’s scalable configurations, from dedicated workstations to comprehensive server/thin client systems, support critical functions.