With the election of a new president and Congress, not to mention a tumultuous economy, medical imaging, just like many other medical sectors, faces uncertain times going in to 2009.


Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) using single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) is an application that has been recently bolstered by the development of quantitative tools that enhance the system’s clinical capabilities in the nuclear cardiology community.


Despite the current decline triggered by the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), the U.S. medical imaging market is expected to recover by 2010. In 2008, the medical imaging market was valued at over $9.2 billion, growing at an associated CAGR of 4.2 percent by 2015.

The gap between medical display quality and COTS (commercial-off-the-shelf) is quickly coming down to just the attributes added by the medical display manufacturer to stabilize the back lights and incorporate a look-up-table (LUT) for compliance to DICOM Part 3.14, grayscale standard display function (GSDF).

However, performance minimums for primary reading, LUTs and back light stabilization maintain the divide between displays that meet radiology reading requirements and those that target the consumer.

Healthcare IT professionals from many countries are looking to the U.S. for examples on how to best deploy and implement imaging informatics technology. In addition, they want the professionals who administer and manage these critical systems in their countries to be highly qualified.


Some Web 2.0 tools are features commonly used among consumers to better communicate and gather information. Such tools are being adapted for and adopted by radiologists. Many radiologists already tap into instant messenger, digital reference libraries, access radiology chat rooms and more.
MBI Takes On FFDM

X-ray mammography is considered the “gold standard” for breast cancer screening in the breast imaging equipment market. The procedure is generally seen as the most effective option for women needing a diagnosis of any abnormalities in the breasts.

October 30, 2008 - Thinking Systems is debuting at RSNA 2008 its new release of the company’s unified Web-based ThinkingPACS/ThinkingRIS with comprehensive solutions for radiology, cardiology and molecular imaging.

October 29, 2008 – Technical University of Munich, Germany, recently welcomed 175 radiation oncology experts from 16 countries to the International Conference on the Clinical Use of TomoTherapy.

October 28, 2008 – GE Healthcare has introduced a three-day “Essentials of DICOM” course for biomedical engineers, imaging technicians and hospital IT personnel, in response to customer demand for Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) education.

Subscribe to
© Copyright Wainscot Media. All Rights Reserved.
Subscribe Now