The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) has left its mark on hospitals and outpatient imaging center operators. There is no denying that the imaging industry has changed forever. Some may think that the 10 percent of operators on the brink of bankruptcy or in default on payments to finance vendors is a mere market correction for years of overgrowth. But do the math.

April 8, 2008 - The government on Monday said it would raise payments next year to insurers that provide healthcare coverage to seniors by 3.6 percent, a slight increase from last year's boost.

The increase applies to companies in the Medicare Advantage program, the privately run wing of the government health care plan for seniors. Officials from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said the increase is slightly lower than the estimated 3.7 percent expected growth increase for Medicare in 2009.

Last year the agency increased payments on average by 3.5 percent.

April 8, 2008 - Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. collaborated with Mobile Aspects to create VistaTrak, a touchscreen contrast media management system that gives users a new management tool designed to help enhance patient care and safety, optimize inventory management and improve billing accuracy.

April 8, 2008 - Philips launched the latest addition to its HD ultrasound family of products, the Philips HD7, in the U.S. designed for high-volume use in cardiovascular, OB/GYN, anesthesiology, oncology, electrophysiology, stress echo, pediatric, orthopedic, urologic, emergency and other applications.

April 8, 2008 - Battelle, a nonprofit independent research and development organization, and MEDRAD Inc. won a Medical Design Excellence Award (MDEA) for the MEDRAD XDS Extravasation Detector, a device for the enhancement of the safety of contrast media injection through early detection of extravasations.

Battelle worked closely with MEDRAD to develop the technology from exploration through product development. MEDRAD and Battelle jointly invented the electrical permittivity technology that enables XDS and developed the commercial product.

April 8, 2008 - Connect Imaging introduced new software, VCM Port, for use with FUJIFILM’s FCRm digital mammography systems, created to address an issue the company identified while validating its PACS for use with Fuji’s computed radiography mammography system installed at one of Connect’s clients sites.

Fuji has fully validated the VCM Port software and now offers it for use with the company’s FCRm digital mammography systems (Part Number X-VCMPORT-00). Users of Fuji’s FCRm system also may purchase the software directly from Connect Imaging.

The new Kodak Directview Classic and Elite CR Systems are designed to perform a wide range of exams using standard Kodak Directview CR cassettes. The new systems include automatic image rendering that reportedly eliminate the need for technologists to identify each exam projection and allows users to create customized settings for image presentation (by exam type/body part). These systems also incorporate new image processing software.

The CR-ITX 560 is stand-alone solution that combines a CR reader and a transportable X-ray unit in a single, self-contained "package." This solution is completely mobile, making it ideal for multiple applications where immediate capture and access to patient images is a vital part the diagnoses, said the company.

The Kodak DirectView DR 3500 is a compact digital radiography system that works to deliver a small footprint, functionality and convenience required by hospitals, outpatient imaging centers and clinics that serve orthopedic specialists and other physicians.

The DR 3500 system reportedly provides more productivity-enhancing features to the DR 3000 platform, which it replaces. The company said these productivity gains could translate to a more efficient workflow that can help facilities handle larger patient volumes without adding staff.

The DirectView DR 7500 features a retractable wall-stand Bucky that extends for wheelchair and table projections, as well as an elevating 4-way floating table that includes a detector that follows the overhead tube to stay aligned along the length of the table. The Bucky pulls out of the table to accommodate extremity exams for additional flexibility.

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