Diagnostic Imaging Scan - November 27, 2007 - (Page 3) digms together,” said Prahlad Singh, senior director of strategic planning and business development for Philips ultrasound. ImaRx is testing the approach in a phase I/II study, evaluating the microbubbles and ultrasound for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. Less than a micron in diameter, the lipid-shelled microbubbles have the potential to infiltrate a blood clot like a microscopic army that, when agitated by ultrasound, can burst the clot from the inside out. The microbubbles may also be able to transport and release tPA in the clot. The collaboration with Philips is intended to develop a more detailed understanding of the interaction of ultrasound and the MRX-801 microbubble technology. Philips is providing the equipment and expertise that ImaRx will use during laboratory and preclinical studies of the agent. OHSU investigators are similarly looking at fundamental issues, but they are not focused on just one brand of ultrasound or contrast agent. Dr. Sanjiv Kaul, chief of cardiovascular medicine, and colleagues plan to look at a number of microbubble and ultrasound technologies, including their own. They will do so in a novel way. Using grant money from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, Kaul and colleagues are custom building a high-definition optical camera that will capture nanosecond changes as microbubbles are pelted by ultrasound. The camera will focus specifically on the compression and relaxation phases that cause these bubbles to explode. “This might allow us to modify the bubbles or ultrasound to achieve a kind of a maximal bang for the buck,” Kaul said. The research team will look specifically at the interaction between microbubbles and blood clots both in vitro and in vivo. “No one knows how microbubbles cause thrombus dissolution,” he said. “While there are many theories, no one has ever observed the real effect. Once we know the real mechanism, we can amplify it.” They will also investigate what happens when ultrasound bursts microbubbles carrying drugs or genes, which then get dispersed into the surrounding tissue. Determining how this happens may provide important information about the localized microcirculation and endothelium, Kaul said. The details that emerge from these studies may help Kaul and colleagues develop technologies specifically tuned to certain medical tasks, such as treating ischemic stroke. Early work will require no more expertise than OHSU already has at hand. But corporate collaboration eventually will be needed. “It is a design issue, and we can design microbubbles in small batches,” he said. “But for commercial and clinical applications, we will need to get a company involved.” QStar embeds PACS into storage appliance SyntryPACS offers all-in-one solution for $15K QStar Technologies turned the usual process of PACS development upside down with the development of its SyntryPACS—a PACS layered on top of an archive to create an all-in-one appliance, priced for imaging operations with a few dollars to spare. Most PACS are done the other way around, as developers come up with a PACS first and then add storage, or leave customers to add that piece, according to Jim Wheeler, QStar director of marketing and business development. “Because it’s an appliance, SyntryPACS is an all-encompassing solution. It is very easy to install so the hospitals themselves don’t have to think, ‘I need this piece and that piece’,” Wheeler said. “This gives them the basic functionality plus an archive platform.” The company, a 20-year provider of storage devices and routers, will begin pitching its latest development this week at the RSNA meeting, positioning SyntryPACS as a low-cost, efficient means for storing and retrieving medical imaging studies. The company is looking for a specific kind of customer. “We’re after the small business market,” he said. “The imaging center and clinic with three or fewer modalities have to meet the same requirements (for record and image retention) as the large hospitals, but they don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars to throw at the problem.” QStar’s product with built-in PACS and network connectivity will start around $15,000. Both DICOM- and HIPAA-compliant, SyntryPACS embeds PACS software into the server along with storage management software. This allows automated, rule-based, secure routing of images and advanced replication features. Hooked into an existing network, SyntryPACS can be accessed from on-line workstations throughout the clinic or hospital. • Medison America (2903) spotlights Accuvix V10, introduced last year with 3D/4D imaging but awaiting clearance by the FDA in the spring. • Philips Medical Systems (4129) features the Vision 2008 upgrade package for the iU22. • Siemens Medical Solutions (7713) enters the hand-carried market with palm-sized Acuson P10, shown at last year’s meeting as a work-in-progress. Look also for the Sequoia Plus, cleared by the FDA in mid-October. • Toshiba Medical Systems (7130) upgrades the Xario XG with enhancements that cleared the FDA in late October. • Ultrasonix Medical (8542) spotlights the Sonix Smart Ultrasound systems. • Zonare Medical Systems (5305) features an enhanced z.one ultra, launched commercially in early 2007, which automatically adjusts gain and brightness and traces spectral Doppler waveform. Nuclear Medicine jumps on the high-definition bandwagon. High-resolution PET/CTs feature better detectors, more slices, and software that cleans up artifacts. • Gamma Medica-Ideas (5439) showcases the LumaGem gamma camera for breast imaging. • GE Healthcare (1729) highlights postprocessing tools and motion correction techniques for the Discovery product line of PET/CTs. • Naviscan PET Systems (6920) focuses on the ability of Flex Solo II to visualize cancerous breast lesions between 1.5 mm and 2 mm. • Philips Medical Systems promotes its proprietary time-of-flight PET/CT, Gemini TF (TruFlight)—commercially launched last year—with a pulmonary toolkit to damp motion artifact caused by patient breathing. • Siemens Medical Solutions (7713) rebrands its PET/CTs from biograph to Biograph TruePoint, likening the result of advanced algorithms to high-definition TV. • Spectrum Dynamics (4977) showcases its just commercially released D-SPECT Cardiac that boasts solid-state cadmiumzinc-telluride detectors and proprietary reconstruction to cut the time of SPECT heart scans by 75%. Copyright © 1991-2007 CMP Healthcare Media Group LLC November 27, 2007
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