Download Mobile App

Video Library

Vendor-Neutral PACS Improves Breast Imaging Workflow

By MedImaging International staff writers
Posted on 07 Apr 2010

A multi-modality, vendor-neutral picture archiving and communications system (PACS) and diagnostic review solution is designed to improve breast imaging workflow and radiologist efficiency.

Agfa HealthCare (Mortsel, Belgium), a provider of diagnostic imaging and healthcare information technology (IT) systems, is launching its Impax for Breast Imaging solution at the 2010 European Congress of Radiology (ECR) in Vienna, Austria in March 2010.

Impax for Breast Imaging is available with Impax 6.5, Agfa HealthCare's next version of its PACS solution. Employing newly designed Workstation Accelerator technology, Impax 6.5 will combine workflow and location recognition to provide optimum performance.

Impax for Breast Imaging extends Agfa HealthCare's PACS solution into breast imaging with unique new features. It implements the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) Mammography Image profile, which solves image display problems typically encountered in mixed vendor environments (orientation, size, justification, consistency of grayscale contrast, completeness of annotations). It also introduces the innovative 1:1 Navigator, which allows for a fast review of mammography images at full resolution, minimizing the viewing of blank detector space and adapting the number of cells necessary for viewing the entire breast. The solution also supports Agfa HealthCare's Musica MCE (MicroCalcification Enhancement) technology, specifically designed for the enhancement of potential microcalcifications.

Impax for Breast Imaging automatically routes relevant data (including breast ultrasound, full field digital mammography, and breast magnetic resonance [MR]) based on a variety of user-definable criteria. Relevant prior exams are automatically prefetched from the archive management system and sent to the diagnostic review station. When available, radiology results from the radiology information systems (RIS) can also be displayed. The system is provided with a specially developed keypad to improve the overall workflow speed.

"The launch of Impax for Breast Imaging at ECR is a next step in our ambition to deliver a complete portfolio of diagnostic imaging IT solutions to the market,” stated Volker Wetekam, vice president IT at Agfa HealthCare. "Today we offer Impax for significant number of specialties, from orthopedics to cardiology, and the introduction of Impax for Breast Imaging will only reinforce this offering, and our ambitions. The solution combines all of Agfa HealthCare's knowledge and best of breed solutions in a system that promises to deliver new levels of service to our customers.”

Related Links:
Agfa HealthCare

Visit expo >

High-Precision QA Tool

DEXA Phantom

Adjustable Mobile Barrier

M-458

X-Ray Illuminator

X-Ray Viewbox Illuminators

Mammo DR Retrofit Solution

DR Retrofit Mammography

Latest Imaging IT News

Channels

Radiography

view channel

Image: Screening mammograms and artificial intelligence (AI) score changes over time in two individuals with screen-detected cancer. Full-field digital mammograms show craniocaudal (top) and mediolateral (bottom) views of the left and right breast (Photo courtesy of Radiological Society of North America)

AI Mammography Tools Detect Early Breast Cancer Signs Years Before Diagnosis

Breast cancer screening aims to detect tumors before symptoms develop, but subtle mammographic changes can appear years before diagnosis and may be missed during routine reads. Delayed detection can lead... Read more

$Image: Kyushu University researchers use Dynamic Chest Radiography (DCR) to evaluate the severity of Pulmonary Regurgitation (PR), a common complication after treatment of the congenital heart disease Tetralogy of Fallot. The analysis only requires the patient to hold their breath for seven seconds for a sequence of images of their heart to be taken. The images are then analyzed and extracted into a waveform that can show the severity of PR. The new technique\\\'s detection accuracy of severe PR is 93%, with a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity of 94%. (Photo courtesty of Kyushu University/Yuzo Yamasaki)$

Rapid X-Ray Test Quantifies Pulmonary Regurgitation After Tetralogy of Fallot Repair

Tetralogy of Fallot is the most common cyanotic congenital heart defect and can leave patients with pulmonary valve regurgitation, a backward flow of blood into the right ventricle after repair.... Read more

Image credit: Shu-Han Chen / St. Paul’s Hospital / National Taiwan University

AI Tool Flags Osteoporosis Risk from Routine Chest X-Rays

Osteoporosis is a progressive loss of bone density that is often silent until a fracture occurs. Current screening frameworks concentrate on older women and select high-risk groups. Many men, younger adults,... Read more

Simple Chest X-Ray Measure Predicts Survival After Lung Cancer Surgery

Obstructive ventilatory disorder, marked by airflow limitation that reduces breathing efficiency, increases postoperative risk in patients with lung cancer. Although surgery offers the best chance of cure,... Read more

MRI

view channel

International Study Assesses AI for Prostate Cancer MRI Interpretation

Prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer morbidity in men, and accurate early diagnosis hinges on expert interpretation of prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Rapid adoption of MRI-first pathways... Read more

$Image: By training the AI with simulations, researchers can reconstruct brain images with high precision using only one-tenth of the data typically required in magnetic resonance imaging. The image shows a metric known as “fractional anisotropy”—an index of myelination—obtained using conventional methods and with the new approach (Photo courtesy of Instituto de Neurociencias UMH CSIC)$