Image fusion — combining image data from different modalities, and of which hybrid imaging is a subset — is revolutionizing the way physicians view and treat disease. The process can be performed through computer workstations and software, however, dedicated hybrid systems, such as PET/CT and more recently, SPECT/CT, minimize the drawbacks of fusing images derived from two separate pieces of equipment. According to some experts, dedicated hybrid systems possess the potential to bring the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, neurological and cardiac diseases to the brink of transformation.

As clinical director of Breast MRI of Oklahoma LLC and radiologic director of Mercy Women’s Center, Rebecca G. Stough, M.D., knows breast cancer. She has seen it using a full range of imaging modalities and is a pioneer in the use of MRI for cancer evaluation and treatment planning as well as for screening of high-risk women. “MRI is far superior to any breast cancer imaging tool we have, when used appropriately,” she said. “The medical community is just beginning to mine its full potential.”


Radiology information technology (IT) such as PACS, RIS, clinical applications and digital dictation/speech recognition is creating new opportunities for radiology services, both inpatient and outpatient.

Imaging technology has advanced by leaps and bounds in the last few years with enhancements in multimodality imaging, image-guided radiotherapy and with new applications for CT and MR in cardiology. Medical imaging, as a result, is gaining widespread acceptance as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool across multiple specialties, including radiology, oncology, cardiology, pathology, nuclear medicine and more.

Image fusion of molecular and anatomic data has proven extremely useful for diagnosis and treatment in radiology, neurology, oncology and cardiology, enabling localization of tumors and lesions, planning for radiotherapy, biopsy and surgery, and in new applications in CT angiography.

The market for PACS implementation services was earmarked to reach $273 million in 2005, representing more than twenty percent of the total PACS market, according to the 2004 North American Turnkey PACS Markets report by Frost & Sullivan. Numbers like these testify that PACS is becoming more of a services industry, in which PACS is no longer seen as a product but rather as a solution that incorporates the related services. Among these services is data migration, or the transfer of data from one archive system to another.

Knowledge is power. And patients are acquiring that power. An informed patient today might ask a physician before undergoing an exam, “Does your MRI have 3-D imaging support?” Or simply, “Is the equipment safe?”

Nuclear medicine (NM) was one of the first imaging modalities to offer all-digital acquisition and processing, achieve general agreement on image data and header formats, and develop a modality specific DICOM Image Object Definition (IOD). Yet PACS and DICOM viewer vendors seem to be stumped when trying to implement displays for NM data.

The need for orthopedic care in the U.S. has grown considerably in recent years, due in large part to an aging population and an almost obsessive, albeit well-intentioned, preoccupation with physical fitness. Orthopedics now includes subspecialties, such as joint replacement and sports medicine, terms that 30 years ago may have solicited a quizzical “huh?” from the average citizen. But today, almost everyone knows someone who has had knee or hip replacement, and thanks to their man-made prostheses, scores of recipients are once again enjoying life’s most simple pleasures.
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