Editorial

Radiologists are practicing in an environment of tremendous change. The changeover from film-based radiology to faster, sharper PACS and the increasing demand for more complex diagnostic procedures, continues to transform the ways in which radiologists work and how they collaborate with other medical healthcare specialists. That role includes interacting more closely with referring physicians and patients...

Association News

Managers and leaders are under enormous pressure to deliver more, with fewer resources and in faster time. This pressure quickly translates into inefficiency, reduced effectiveness and personal stress, all of which are then transmitted to those people we manage and lead in the form of staff morale, poor motivation, absenteeism, sickness, and high staff turnover, costly both in human and financial terms....

The 15th edition of Cardiostim, the main world meeting on electrophysiology and cardiac arrhythmia, will be held from June 14 - 17, 2006, in Nice-Acropolis (France). 5,000 participants from 80 countries are expected to attend. This year’s programme includes over 1,000 presentations proposed by teams from 50 countries, and will continue to highlight the various electrical specialties in cardiology. Card...

Yet another successful event was held during the last week of April 2006, in Barcelona, Spain, by ‘Integrating the Health Enterprise’ (IHE). This year’s Connectathon featured more than 250 participants who attended the five-day event in the La Farga Centre at L'Hospitalet, Barcelona, coorganised by IHE-Europe and IHE-Espagna with the help of StudioSeis. Participants included engineers from 15 countri...

EU News

AuthorSonja PlanitzerEditor European [email protected] The Cour...

AuthorSonja Planitzer Editor European Affairs [email protected] The European Union is based on the rule of law. This means that everything that it does is derived from treaties, which are agreed on voluntarily and democratically by all Member States. The most important treaties are 'Treaty of Nice – signed on 26 February 2001, entered into force on 1 February 2003. It dealt mostly with r...

AuthorDr David Norris Head of MRI Investigations FC Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging NIJmegen, The Netherlands [email protected] In 2004, the European Commission issued a Directive concerning physical agents with the laudable aim of protecting workers from possible health risks associated with electromagnetic radiation in the workplace. The Directive lays down a minimum...

Industry News

The Isala hospital group in Zwolle, The Netherlands, has chosen Agfa HealthCare for the installation of an extensive RIS/PACS/Speech solution which will integrate medical patient information flows between its two sites. The decision is the result of a stringent tender procedure that followed EU regulations that govern tenders received by public institutions....

Shimadzu has introduced a new flat-panel detector (FPD). The ‘Safire’ offers the first detector with directconversion technology, and advantages in image quality and dose efficiency in comparison with indirect FPD technology. The new technology enables clearer high–resolution images with less signal deterioration and reduced noise. The top layer of the FPD, an x-ray conversion film, converts x-rays p...

Philips will acquire Witt Biomedical Corporation, an independent supplier of haemodynamic monitoring and clinical reporting systems used in cardiology catheterisation laboratories (cath labs). Subject to receipt of regulatory approval, Philips will acquire Witt Biomedical for approximately USD165 million. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2006. Both companies expect to ben...

Matrox Graphics Inc., a manufacturer of graphics solutions, has announced that NECDS-J will offer the Matrox AuroraVX Series™ display controller board with its medical MD21GS-3MP, MD21GS-2MP displays in Japan. The AuroraVX Series of display controller boards maximise display output options, powering up to three displays from a single low-profile PCI Express board. The AuroraVX3mp supports a Navigation Co...

NEC Display Solutions, a provider of flat panel desktop and large-screen displays announced its new series of professional LCD monitors - the NEC MultiSync 90-series. The new NEC MultiSync 90-series, which will replace the MultiSync 80-series, contains over 25 new or improved features that produce crisper, clearer images, enable better control and connectivity, increase energy efficiency and provide greate...

Planar Systems, Inc. has unveiled the Dome® EX line in Europe, which includes the first 4-MP colour diagnostic display medically certified for the healthcare field. Designed for use in areas such as radiology, cardiology, nuclear medicine, PET/CT, dermatology and the OR, Planar’s Dome E4c features a widescreen, 16:9 formatthat simplifies comparison studies by eliminating the image split associated with...

Hologic have entered into definitive agreements to acquire both Suros Surgical Systems and R2 Technology. Suros Surgical Systems, a privately held manufacturer of minimally invasive surgical technologies focused on breast biopsy and tissue removal provide the ATEC® (Automated Tissue Excision and Collection) line of products for percutaneous, automatic vacuum assisted breast biopsy systems, ancillary bre...

Unveiled at the recent American College of Cardiology (ACC) Meeting, a new investigative computer-assisted tomography device developed by Toshiba can create high-resolution, nearly instant pictures of a patient's heart - literally in one heartbeat. "The 2nd spec 256-Multislice CT seems to be a promising next generation CT for coronary and cardiac imaging," said Akira Kurata, MD, PhD, a cardiologist on the...

GE Healthcare has introduced the next-generation Centricity RIS/PACS 3.0. which handles the demands of high volume departments, large stand-alone hospitals, and even entire hospital networks. Centricity RIS/PACS 3.0 conforms to IHE standards, and integrates RIS and PACS data seamlessly into a user based solution for radiologists, clinicians and technologists. Centricity PACS AW Suite, a new application, gi...

Sectra, a manufacturer of equipment for radiology exams, plans to integrate new technology into future products, based on a doctoral thesis entitled “Computer-aided Detection and Novel Mammography Imaging Techniques" by Hans Bornefalk, named "Best Student Contributor" at a major conference for radiology technology in the US. To grow, a cancer needs to form its own blood vessels, which are often of...

Cover Story: PACS & IT

Choosing the Right Setting and EquipmentAuthors Dr Nicolah. Strickland Consultant Radiologist Professor Philip Gishen Director of Imaging Hammersmit Hospital NHS Trust London, United Kingdom Dr Nicolah. Strickland [email protected] Once your hospital becomes filmless, with a hospital-wide PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications System), all radiological images are only visibl...

How Informatics are Improving Healthcare AuthorRoald Bergstrom Senior Advisor Norwegian Centre for Informatics in Health And Social Care(KITH) Norway [email protected] Norway provides extensive health services and a welldeveloped social security net. About 35% of the annual Norwegian state budget, or 7 - 8% of the gross national budget, is spent on health and social care, making i...

GPWL Vital to Maximise Buyer Choice Author Dr David Harvey Medical Connections Swansea, United Kingdom [email protected] Why Requirements Differ for Repor ting Workstations To understand why this barrier exists for reporting workstations, but not for clinical workstations, consider the user’s starting point. On a clinical workstation, the starting point is a particular patient...

A Holistic Approach to Data Management Authors Dr. Hanna Pohjonen Healthcare IT Consultant Rosalieco OY Espoo, Finland [email protected] Prof. Hans Blickman Chairman Dept. of Radiology UMC St. Radbound Nijmegen, The Netherlands [email protected] There is no doubt that installation of a PAC system, designed for image and data storage and accessibility, necessitates...

Defining Future Needs Author Dr Gabriel Meinhardt Cardiology Consultant Robert Bosch Krankenhaus Stuttagert, Germany [email protected] The Robert Bosch Krankenhaus was opened in 1973 and has created a worldwide reputation in medical and surgical care, for pioneering the practical application of innovative IT solutions to improve healthcare delivery. In my position as "Oberarzt", a fu...

Features

Authors Prof. Dr. Med. R. Schulz-Wendtland Institute of Radiology Gynaecological Radiology University of Erlangen-Nurnberg Erlangen, Germany [email protected] K. P. Hermann Georg-August-University Institutue for Diagnostic Radiology Gottingen, Germany Professor W. Bautz Director Institute for Diagnostic Radiology Friedrich-AlexanderUni...

Author Prof. Dr. Mathias Langer Director Divison of Diagnostic Radiology Radiology Department Freiburg University Hospital Freiburg, Germany [email protected] How to Create a Win-Win Situation Changing Existing Structures The previous organisational structure of the radiology department at our university hospital, was based on the traditional hierarchical model, i.e...

Author Prof. Jarl A. Jakobsen Chairman Department of Radiology Rikshospitalet University Hospital Oslo, Norway [email protected] A solid grounding in management and business administration is a crucial asset to healthcare leaders who want to manage their departments in the best way, and to create growth and consolidation for our profession. Management is particularly demand...

Accuracy Key for Improved Heart Failure Management Author Dr. Ivan Salgo Heart Failure Investigations Programme Director Philips Ultrasound Heart failure, the inability of the heart to pump sufficient blood to meet the metabolic demand of the body, impacts millions worldwide every year. Implications of heart failure are broad and have become a tremendous economic burden. Worldwide, heart fa...

Review of Technological Advances Author Anthony Stevens, PHD Director Medical Options London, United Kingdom [email protected] In recent years the development of new technologies across the range of imaging modalities has delivered most benefits to cardiovascular imaging. The result is a wide choice of modalities available to provide diagnostic and prognostic information on th...

ECRI Healthcare Product Comparison Chart

ContactECRI Europe Weltech Centre Ridgeway, Welwyn Garden City, Herts AL7 2AA, United Kingdom [email protected] WWW.ECRI.ORG.UK ECRI is a total ly independent non profit research agency designated as a Collaborating Centre of the World Health Organization (WHO) . Such organisations are appointed to contribute to WHO’s publ ic health mission by providing special ised knowledge, exper tise, an...

Country Focus

Author Prof. Frank Boudghene Proffessor for Radiology Hopital Tenon Paris, France Many significant aspects of the French healthcare system have changed over the last few years, and will continue to impact the future of healthcare provision in France, as it adapts to the complexity of modern medicine Access to Care is Changing Since its inception in 1945, the public health insurance progra...

Promoting the Profession of Radiology in France Authors Professor Guy Frija Secretary General Catherene Prop Executive Director Societe Francaise De Radiologie (SFR) Paris, France [email protected] WWW.SFRNET.ORG The French Society of Radiology (SFR), founded in 1909, is a non-profit scientific organisation, actively promoting and safeguarding the highest standards of practice in...

Improving the Quality System Authors R. Duvauferrier (Above) S. Badonnel Y. Rolland C. Bourdeau Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging Hôpital Sud Rennes, France [email protected] This article focuses on the efforts of the The Department of Diagnostic Radiology of the Hôpital Sud in Rennes, France, in upgrading their ISO 9001 Quality System. The transformation...

Protecting the Intrests of Imaging in France Author Dervla Sains Managing Editor Imaging Management [email protected] For the last twenty years, major technological advances have transformed radiology and diagnostic and therapeutic imaging. X-rays no longer constitute the main workload of the radiologist; ultrasound, magnetic resonance and computer assisted devices are some of t...

My Opinion

Interviewee Prof. Davide Caramella Radiologia Diagnostica E Interventistica Universita Di Pisa, Italy Tell Us About Your Professional Background. I am an Academic Radiologist at the University of Pisa. My main clinical role is in the area of imaging and intervention in oncology. Since several years ago, I have also been involved in research projects concerning information technology application...

Congress Review

With a record number of 16,000 participants, the number of attendees at ECR 2006 exceeded al l previous year’s levels. This year’s congress also saw the highest ever number of attendance in lecture rooms, thirteen percent higher than 2005. Due t o high demand, the Foundation Course on Musculoskeletal Radiology had to be repeated. “One of the foundations of ECR’s success is the high quality of its s...


No comment