TeraRecon features new workflow technologies

TeraRecon unveiled new workflow technologies—Workflow Templates and Workflow Scenes—as part of its Aquarius iNtuition platform at the 2007 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference.

The technologies feature preprocessing algorithms designed to identify the nature of each examination received by the server without relying on DICOM headers, which may contain typographical errors. The system then automatically performs preprocessing steps, such as labeling anatomy and detecting appropriate centerlines, using algorithms selected for specific anatomy being processed.

The results are stored as "Scene" files, which allows the iNtuition software to create a tailored "Workflow" template to the user, according to the company.

TeraRecon also introduced an advanced visualization server with rendering capacity for more than 500,000 CT slices. The AquariusNET server provided advanced visualization capability for more than 50 workplaces at the company's exhibit at the RSNA meeting in Chicago.

TeraRecon showcased the following clinical innovations on the iNtuition edition of the Aquarius product suite:

• 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 (such as breast studies);
• CT angiography registration and subtraction for “CT-dual subtraction angiography;” and
• Full cardiovascular clinical workup capabilities on a thin client.

The AquariusAPS server provides real-time automatic pre-processing to perform routine tasks and prepare the case for human interaction, TeraRecon said. During the validation step, a technologist or physician reviews the work done for accuracy. This feature allows for optimal interpretation with the minimum time requirement from a busy physician, according to the vendor.

Aquarius iNtuition is designed for the global market with user interface localization supported to a wide range of languages and features a simple and open application programming interface for RIS/PACS integration, the company said.