NUCLEAR MEDICINE

More documents

Recommendations

Info

sponsored by an educational grant from TeraRecon Expanding High-End Image Processing Beyond the 3D Lab TeraRecon’s Aquarius Workstation incorporates real-time 2D review and 3D post-processing. Like AquariusNET, the high performance workstation features the unparalleled rendering speed and image quality of VolumePro 1000. The end result? The Aquarius workstation outperforms all current offerings. “We’ve found it to be very helpful for any study that has a lot of images.” —Ronald Stillerman, D.O., staff radiologist,Watson Clinic Watson Clinic in Lakeland, Fla., purchased the Aquarius workstation last year as a complement to a GE Medical Systems PACS. Ronald Stillerman, D.O., staff radiologist at Watson Clinic, explains, “We looked at a couple of different products and determined that the Aquarius workstation would best meet our needs.” Indeed, in just the few short months since the clinic installed the Aquarius workstation, it has become an integral part of the practice, Stillerman says. Physicians and radiologists at Watson Clinic have integrated the Aquarius workstation into a broad range of clinical applications. “It’s pretty useful. We’ve found it to be very helpful for any study that has a lot of images,” says Stillerman. The Aquarius workstation is used for 3D reconstruction for segmentation of vessels for CT angiography. Clinicians also use it for preoperative evaluation of aneurysms and pancreatic mass evaluation. Stillerman continues, “We’ve had a couple of unique and interesting requests. For example, we were asked to evaluate a dialysis graft for malfunction.” As the clinic continues to integrate the Aquarius workstation, a variety of specialists are being introduced to its benefits. For example, the new workstation is used for calcium scoring at Watson Clinic. Stillerman says that initially radiologists were concerned that cardiologists might not refer their patients to radiology for calcium scoring. Those fears proved to be unfounded. “Our cardiologists are cooperating and referring patients. We’ve discovered that calcium-scoring is mutually useful,” he testifies. Other clinical applications of the Aquarius workstation at Watson Clinic include MR angiography and CT screening for pulmonary nodules. The expanding list of applications and TeraRecon’s Aquarius Workstation across-the-board interest in 3D reconstruction has yielded one unexpected result at Watson Clinic. Because so many clinicians are requesting 3D reconstructions, the radiology department will probably have a to hire a full-time technologist for reconstructions. The Aquarius workstation may yield other improvements in patient care. 3D reconstruction offers new possibilities in cardiac care. Peter Balkin, M.D., chief of radiology at Straub Clinic (Honolulu, Hawaii), has become convinced of the workstation power and utility for cardiac CTA. He admits, “I was actually very skeptical about this. Until TeraRecon came along, I wasn’t sure how coronary CTA would compare to cardiac catheterization. Now I think it will compare very favorably to cardiac catheterization.” Why the change of heart? Two words: Aquarius workstation. Straub Clinic installed an Aquarius workstation as a complement to a Fujifilm Medical Systems PACS. Balkin says, “It’s one or two steps ahead compared to other products I’ve seen. There are a lot of exciting possibilities. You can interrogate each coronary vessel easily and scroll down to see the coronaries and rotate other objects away from what you need to look at.” Balkin adds that the Aquarius workstation is easy to use, and he points out that the radiologists are able to do all the 3D reconstruction in five minutes or fewer with the Aquarius workstation. www.MEDICALIMAGINGmag.com JUNE 2002 • MEDICAL IMAGING
3D “My hope is that I can call studies from the PACS to my computer and create the reconstruction I want in the first place. I can go into the case deeper and do more manipulations,” he says. Katen emphasizes the utility of 3D analysis for endovascular work. “When you’re trying to see the anatomy, being able to manage the data and plan treatment in 3D is very important.” Other applications include cardiac CTA and reviewing the results of calcium scoring performed on the Aquarius workstation. Advancing Clinical Collaboration Two-dimensional review and 3D reconstruction are critical components in medicine. But there are other key ingredients to effective treatment planning. One of those ingredients is other physicians. Unfortunately, communicating findings and sharing images with collaborating physicians isn’t always easy. With AquariusNET, a radiologist can export and share images and reports. The system also features integrated reporting tools. Using these tools, it takes just seconds to create an interactive file, which can be emailed to a physician or stored on the central server. When a physician opens the document, the embedded images come to life. Katen explains, “When the physician opens the document he can rotate the dataset in 3D with no loss of quality. It’s no longer a static image. He can seamlessly create a different view without asking the radiologist for another document or printed image.” Katen believes that these capabilities can promote teleradiology. A radiologist can AquariusNETfeatures integrated reporting tools for creating interactive files. 3D volume rendering and reconstruction bring a brain tumor to life in two views. look at and manipulate images from his home. “This maximizes the hospital’s infrastructure,” he notes. Similarly, AquariusNET can be used to create teaching files where everyone has access to the same information. Since its founding in 1997, TeraRecon Inc. (San Mateo, Calif.) has continued to search for and develop innovative tools to extend the reach of digital image management. One of the newest tools in the toolbox is the Personal Digital Light Box (PDLB), a display option for AquariusNET. The PDLB offers crisp, bright and high-resolution display for 2D and 3D CT or MR softcopy diagnostic review. It consists of multiple ultra-thin 15-inch LCD panels, each with 3 million pixels, all driven by a single PC platform. The Wave of the Future The First Digital Light Box The Personal Digital Light Box for AquariusNET. Radiologists agree on the key advantage of AquariusNET. The system’s distributive nature makes 3D viewing an enterprisewide reality. More importantly, the built-in power of the system means that these large datasets are available on demand. Waiting time is nonexistent. Manipulating images, whether for coronary CTA, abdominal imaging or cardiac CT, is also quick and accurate. “It will become even more important for hospitals to have AquariusNET technology in the future. We are heading toward evaluating things at a volume instead of reviewing single images. “Radiologists and clinicians will need to be able to scroll through a 3D volume set at whatever plane or angle they want to,” Protopapas, of St. Raphael, predicts. AquariusNET lets physicians throughout the hospital view and manipulate 3D data. The last, but certainly not the least important, advantage is its compatibility with other computers. AquariusNET works with standard PCs and notebooks. The hospital’s investment in computer hardware can be maximized. The PDLB may be configured with two, four or eight panels, equating to six million, 12 million and 24 million pixels of color resolution, respectively. The PDLB and AquariusNET combination efficiently and costeffectively brings advanced image processing capability to every radiologist’s desk or any light-box site in the hospital. As a digital equivalent to the light box, the PDLB provides a similar experience in terms of form-factor and simultaneous display of multiple images. Reprinted, with permission, from the June 2002 issue of Medical Imaging magazine, Vol. 17, No. 6. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2002 HealthTech Publishing Company Inc./ a division of Medical World Communications, 295 Promenade St., Suite 2, Providence, RI 02908-5720. Tel: 401-455-0555. Fax: 401-455-1555. ISSN 1073-1202.
Page 2: By Lisa Fratt More and more radiolo
Page 8: AquariusNET Enterprise-wide 3D With

NUCLEAR MEDICINE

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?