Apple to launch iPhone 3G with medical imaging capabilities

Apple plans to launch its iPhone 3G July 11, with add-on applications offering medical imaging capabilities. The company said medical imaging is data intensive and requires considerable user interaction, which it believes the iPhone’s multi-touch interface supports.

There are two medical applications slated for  the iPhone 3G: MiMVista, used by doctors to examine patient’s body scans, and Modality, used by medical students and teachers for references, presentations and medical studies, according to Apple.

MIMVista’s multi-modality imaging is a new medical application that allows doctors to view PET and CT scans on their iPhones. MIM 1.0 provides multi-planar reconstruction of data sets from modalities including CT, PET, MRI and SPECT, as well as multi-modality image fusion, the company said.

Using the multi-touch interface, users can change image sets and planes; adjust zoom, fusion blending, and window/level; and measure dimensions and SUV. It features a screen-enabled version of MiMVista’s 3D modeling software, combining x-ray, MRI, and other medical images into a complete view of the patient, Apple said. It can be used in radiation oncology, radiology and nuclear medicine, neuroimaging and cardiac imaging.

Modality is another medical application for iPhone, which features a reference guide for medical students. The application contains many illustrations and labels for the complex structure and location of all the internal workings of the human body, Apple said.

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