sponsored by an educational grant from TeraRecon or she has about a specific case. If necessary, the surgeon can rotate or manipulate an image. The AquariusNET central server completes the manipulation and sends the data to the surgeon’s workstation. With other products on the market, the 3D reconstruction is completed at the workstation level; the radiologist sits down at the workstation and pulls up the entire dataset. This necessitates a powerful and powerfully priced workstation. And, because the data are not stored on a central server, the study isn’t available to other physicians who need to review the images. In some cases, it may be impossible to gain quick, interactive access to 2D and 3D images from a desktop computer, or workflow is compromised because different workstations are used for Meeting the Challenge of Managing Multiple Modalities Any radiologist worth his or her salt will pronounce a multidetector CT scanner (MDCT) a nifty imaging tool that enables a wide variety of clinical applications and even makes it possible to image moving organs. MDCT takes a giant step toward volumetric scanning, right? In the next breath, however, the radiologist will list a host of challenges associated with MDCT. Multiple physicians can view 2D and 3D images from MR, CT, and EBT simultaneously The very beauty of MDCT, its ability to make hundreds and even thousands of slices, presents an enormous challenge. Conventional 2D review isn’t adequate for analyzing the huge datasets generated by MDCT. Thus 3D becomes necessary. Roger Katen, M.D., formerly of Hospital of St. Raphael (New Haven, Conn.), outlines the challenges of MDCT for the radiology department. With a 16- or 32-slice detector, reconstruction can take 30 or 40 minutes. Moreover, how can the radiologist efficiently and effectively review each slice? The reality is that the physician cannot. Katen points to the upshot of MDCT: “MDCT is a great resource, but there has to be a way to www.MEDICALIMAGINGmag.com access that data to its full potential. AquariusNET is that way.” AquariusNET goes beyond conventional 2D review. As a centralized server that can drive many thin-client applications concurrently, AquariusNET provides the technology to manage thousand-slice studies. It gives the radiologist and the clinician access to huge studies in seconds, anywhere in the enterprise, without Standard 3D tools include Slab MIP for kidney and other analysis having to download the data to the client, because it is an ‘on-demand’ streaming client-server architecture. Two-dimensional and 3D visualization are possible anywhere, with any size dataset. AquariusNET features standard 3D tools such as MPR, Slab MIP and 3D volume rendering. And because AquariusNET is a powerful processing resource, the radiologist can view the images fast and scroll through the data quickly. AquariusNET even enables time-volume review such as 4D visualization of a multiphase cardiac CTA or MRA study. With AquariusNET, radiologists and clinicians can overcome the challenges inherent in MDCT and realize its true benefits. 2D review and 3D post-processing. AquariusNET, on the other hand, presents an all-in-one solution. The same station used for soft-copy review can be used for 3D reconstruction. Likewise, the vascular surgeon’s notebook computer doubles as a 2D review and 3D post-processing station. “AquariusNET offers much more flexibility,” Protopapas says. “Instead of having multiple high-end workstations we’ll be able to complete reconstructions on the fly from any PC in the hospital.” Hospitals that have invested in AquariusNET are quick to list the advantages of the system. Without AquariusNET, a clinician who needs a 3D reconstruction has to go through a middleman — the radiologist — because high-end radiology workstations are most likely to be equipped with 3D capabilities. Eliminating the middleman results in both economic and workflow benefits, says Anderson. Moreover, AquariusNET doesn’t send the entire dataset to the user. It sends only what that person needs at that moment. How does it work? With AquariusNET the dataset remains on the central server. Thin-client applications installed on review stations receive screen updates streamed to them on demand. Multiple remote 3D and 2D sessions can be hosted; each physician receives only the 3D model, instead of the entire dataset, at his or her PC. And any physician on the network can manipulate a dataset or image. The system also allows for simultaneous side-by-side review of several studies from different modalities in 2D, 3D or 4D. Finally, with the AquariusNET central server approach, the hospital’s network isn’t forced to send huge Thin-client applications installed on review stations receive screen updates streamed on demand. JUNE 2002 • MEDICAL IMAGING