Definiens unveils CAD for volumetric lymph node for detection, analysis

Definiens introduced LymphExpert, a new computer-aided detection (CAD) application at RSNA 2008 that allows radiologists to identify and analyze lymph nodes volumetrically and compare them over time.  

The Munich-based Definiens said its LymphExpert enables radiologists to track lymph nodes of interest, facilitating earlier detection of the metastatic spread of cancer.  

“Identifying lymph nodes, which often blend into surrounding tissue, is a challenging undertaking,” Frank-P. Klein, vice president of medical imaging at Definiens, told Health Imaging News. “This technology has the potential to streamline oncology diagnostics.”

Definiens Cognition Network Technology is context-based, examining objects in relation to one another and emulates human cognitive processes to extract intelligence from images. The LymphExpert is built on the technology and is the first medical imaging application released by Definiens.  

Designed to support radiologists’ analysis of lymph node volume, it will also enable them to analyze standard parameters required by Recist and the World Health Organization in a reproducible manner.  
Peter Herzog, MD, from the clinical radiology department at the University Hospital of Munich, said that the Definiens technology can monitor the growth and development of lymph nodes.

Definiens said it expects that LymphExpert will be made commercially available in Europe in early 2009.

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