Software Provides Dual-Modality PET/CT Imaging Direct to the Desktop

New software has been developed for a medical image-management system, which provides a full-featured dual-modality positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) viewer for use on any personal computer (PC) across any hospital.

The upgrade is provided free with a standard software maintenance contract, and it will enable healthcare institutions to reduce patient waiting times, speed up diagnosis, and enhance treatment.

Dual-modality PET/CT scans combine the low-resolution functional PET imagery with the precise localization possible with a CT scan, helping specialists to identify conditions more quickly and accurately, and to assess the progress of treatment. This type of imaging has become the "gold standard" in oncology. The 4.2 software from Telemis (Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium), a developer of medical imaging solutions, greatly increases accessibility by allowing dual-modality viewing on any PC or laptop running TM-ReceptionHE.

"Our philosophy, to maximize value for customers by developing new functionality on a continuous basis, is providing healthcare professionals with the right tool at the right moment in the right place," said Stephane Ketelaer, CEO of the Telemis group. "This latest software update adds extra functionality that will provide easier and faster access for oncologists to the information they need."

Typically, dual modality images are inspected using an advanced visualization workstation in specialized locations such as a nuclear medicine department. The typical practice, after a PET/CT scan, is for the radiologist to compile a report for the specialist commissioning the scan, typically an oncologist working with a cancer patient. To discuss the images in depth, the oncologist must meet with the radiologist in the laboratory where a dual-modality workstation is available. The laboratory usually has few workstations, and these are in frequent use, which can introduce delays and difficulties.

TM-ReceptionHE version 4.2 now allows any PC or laptop to provide advanced visualization capabilities. Specialist teams can convene anywhere to discuss results and assess treatment. The physician can visualize the axial, coronal, and sagittal axes in PET, CT, and merged PET/CT at the same time. The viewer is highly controllable and richly featured, allowing adjustment of the transparency level to ensure optimized images when inspecting various parts of the body, such as the lung, pelvis, or abdomen. The embedded tools also allow the user to inspect the maximal intensity projection (MIP) and rotational MIP, and to adjust the dimension of the three-dimensional (3D) sphere on which the SUV is calculated.

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