Agfa Radiology Solutions is committed to enhancing clinical outcomes and operational efficiency, underscoring its innovative edge in the dynamically evolving healthcare landscape. 

AT RSNA23, ITN met with Karol Wesolowski, Global Commercial Excellence Leader, Agfa Radiology Solutions, and Jeroen Spruyt, Head of BU DR, VP Product Supply and Operations, Agfa Radiology Solutions, to learn more about how the company is transforming radiology practices.

Find more RSNA23 conference coverage here

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VIDEO: Talking Trends with Agfa — What’s On Tap for RSNA 2023

Updates on AI in Radiology, RSNA Programs and Stanford Initiatives 

Listen and learn with ITN’s newest “One on One” video discussion with a leader in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). RSNA President Curtis P. Langlotz, MD, PhD, Stanford University, offers not-to-be-missed actionable insights into the application and benefits of artificial intelligence in medical imaging. He also shares highlights from RSNA 2023 and top priorities in the coming year, and summarizes the programs on which he and his Stanford University colleagues are focused.

Related content:

Find more RSNA23 conference coverage here

View the RSNA23 Photo Gallery here

One on One ... with Curtis P. Langlotz, MD, PhD

This summer, the Philips Radiology Experience Tour has been bringing Philips imaging modalities directly to the professionals that use them.

This tour offers physicians, technologists and administrators a unique opportunity to see equipment demonstrations and virtual simulations up close and in person!

Imaging Technology News spoke with Flavia Parisi and Tammie Rupnik to learn more about the Philips Radiology Experience Tour and how Philips continues to drive innovation.

If you weren't able to make it to any of the 2023 tour stops, stay tuned because the Tour will return in 2024! 

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Take a Test Drive on the Philips Radiology Experience Tour

Redefining Radiology

BLOG: Artificial Intelligence Provides Radiologists with Solutions for Today … and Tomorrow

VIDEO: Talking Trends with Philips: Connecting Data and Technology

Philips Advances AI-powered Diagnostic Systems and Transformative Workflow Solutions at RSNA 2022

What Lies Ahead in 2023

Philips Radiology Operations Command Center (ROCC) is a vendor-neutral, multi-modality, multi-site telepresence tool that provides advanced tele-acquisition capabilities and connects imaging experts at a Command Center with technologists at scanning locations across an organization.  

Imaging Technology News recently met with Tanuj Gupta, Business Category Leader, Operational Informatics, and Omkar Phanse, Market Leader, Radiology Workflow Solutions, to learn more about this powerful tele-presence tool. 

Find more RSNA22 coverage here

Philips Advances AI-powered Diagnostic Systems and Transformative Workflow Solutions at RSNA 2022

What Lies Ahead in 2023

Agfa continues develop new products and technologies in its premium and value direct radiography segments including the Valory digital radiography room and the DR 100S.

Imaging Technology News stopped by the Agfa booth at RSNA 2022 to learn more about these products as well as the company’s technology roadmap for the future.

Find more RSNA22 coverage here 

Kim Sandler, MD, Co-Chair of the American College of Radiology (ACR) Lung Cancer Screening Steering Committee, and Associate Professor, Department of Radiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, recently shared updates on research and initiatives for expanding life-saving lung cancer screenings. This video is part of ITN's Special Report on Lung Cancer Screening, a 3-part series focused on news and resources addressing the leading cause of U.S. cancer deaths.

Related Lung Imaging Content:  

Special Report on Lung Cancer and Screening Initiatives

Special Report on Lung Cancer and Screening Initiatives, Part II

American Lung Association Addresses Awareness on World Lung Cancer Day 

MRI Sheds Light on COVID Vaccine-Associated Heart Muscle Injury  

What We Know About Cardiac Long-COVID Two Years Into the Pandemic   

VIDEO: Long-term Cardiac Impacts of COVID-19 Two Years Into The Pandemic — Interview with Aaron Baggish, M.D.  

VIDEO: Long-COVID Presentations in Cardiology at Beaumont Hospital — Interview with Justin Trivax, M.D.  

VIDEO: Cardiac Presentations in COVID Long-haulers at Cedars-Sinai Hospital — Interview with Siddharth Singh, M.D.  

Find more COVID news and videos  

PHOTO GALLERY: How COVID-19 Appears on Medical Imaging  

VIDEO: How to Image COVID-19 and Radiological Presentations of the Virus — Interview with Margarita Revzin, M.D.  

American Lung Association Addresses Awareness on World Lung Cancer Day 

Find more radiology related COVID news and videos  

At RSNA 2021, Konica Minolta introduced the mKDR Xpress Mobile X-ray system and the Aero DR Carbon flat panel detector. Also on display was nVoq’s cloud-based speech recognition and automation solution and new features for the Exa platform that automate common clinical and administrative tasks.

You can find more RSNA21 content here

Sun Nuclear highlighted two resources for CT Quality Assurance at RSNA 2021. ITN visited their booth to learn more about the Mercury 4.0 Phantom and the Multi-Energy CT Phantom from Thomas Webb, Global Product Marketing Manager

Find more RSNA news and videos

Marc Succi, M.D., an emergency radiologist at MGH and executive director of the MESH Incubator, an in-house innovation and entrepreneurship center, and  Ottavia Zattra, a fourth-year medical student at Harvard Medical School, explain a study they authored showing there might be higher cancer rates due to lower numbers of CT scans during COVID-19. They presented this study as a late-breaker at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2021 annual meeting.

COVID caused many people to delay seeing their doctors. Their study found a corresponding 82% drop in CT imaging for cancer screening. CT is also used for initial cancer workups, to monitor active cancer and post procedure surveillance, which all also showed decline since the start of the pandemic.

Read more about the study COVID-19 Fallout May Lead to More Cancer Deaths

Cynthia McCollough, Ph.D., director of Mayo Clinic's CT Clinical Innovation Center,  explains how photon-counting computed tomography (CT) detectors work and why it is a better technology over conventional CT systems. She helped Siemens develop the Naeotom Alpha, the first photo-counting CT system to be approved by the FDA in the fall of 2021. She spoke to ITN at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2021 annual meeting.

Read more about the first commercial photon-counting scanner 

The device uses the emerging CT technology of photon-counting detectors, which can measure each individual X-ray photon that passes through a patient's body, as opposed to current systems which use detectors that measure the total energy contained in many X-rays at once. By "counting" each individual X-ray photon, more detailed information about the patient can be obtained and used to create images with less information that is not useful, such as image noise. 

Current CT technology uses a two-step conversion process to convert X-ray photons into visible light using a scintillator layer in the detector. Then, photo diode light sensors turn the visible light into a digital signal. Due to this intermediate step, important information about the energy of the X-rays is lost and no longer available to aid in diagnosis. Also, contrast is reduced and images are not as clear.

Photon-counting detectors use a single step of direct conversion of X-rays into electrical current, and skips the step of converting X-rays into visible light. This allows the energy thresholds of each pulse to be collected and binned based on different kilovolt (kV) energy levels. This creates data to improve contrast and enable dual-energy, spectral imaging. The direct conversion also helps improve image quality without information loss. This improves image sharpness and contrast.

Photon-counting detectors have already been used for several years in high-energy physics and nuclear imaging. However, these previously generation photon-counting detectors could not be used with a clinical CT scanner because they could not keep up with the high higher rate of photons reaching the detector. The detector on the Naeotom Alpha was designed for this increased speed.

Related Photon-counting CT Content:

Mayo Clinic Begins Use of Third-Generation Photon-counting CT Clinical Research Detector

VIDEO: New Advances in CT Imaging Technology — Interview with Cynthia McCollough, Ph.D.

VIDEO: Photon Counting Detectors Will be the Next Major Advance in Computed Tomography — Interview with Todd Villines, M.D.

Key Trends in Cardiac CT at SCCT 2020

GE Healthcare Pioneers Photon Counting CT with Prismatic Sensors Acquisition

Top Trend Takeaways in Radiology From RSNA 2020

NeuroLogica Joins Forces with Massachusetts General Hospital to Pilot Photon Counting CT at the Patient’s Point-Of-Care Using OmniTom Elite CT

VIDEO: Advances in Cardiac CT Imaging — Interview with David Bluemke, M.D.

With the recent launch of the Magnifico Open, Italian company Esaote has entered the open MRI whole body space. ITN had a conversation with Franco Fontana, CEO of Esaote, at RSNA21.

Magnifico Open, which adds to the range of Esaote products unveiled in 2021, is an open magnetic resonance system with the latest technology. The wide choice of receiver coils and state-of-the-art MRI technology offer the user excellent image quality, while the permanent magnet makes it easy to use and lowers operating costs. The open magnet and the easy-to-access patient table also facilitate, speed up and make patient positioning more comfortable, ideal for both the claustrophobic and for children.

View more RSNA21 content here

Esaote North America Receives FDA Approval of the Magnifico Open MRI System

An example of popliteal artery thrombosis formation caused by COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2). Coronavirus often caused thrombus formation in the body, leading to numerous types of complications, including pulmonary embolism, stroke, heart attack, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and ischemia or infarcts in various organs.

Related COVID ultrasound video clips: 

VIDEO: COVID Lung Ultrasound B-lines and Pleural Thickening

VIDEO: COVID Pneumonia Lung Consolidation on Ultrasound

This video clip is part of the examples from an RSNA journal Radiographics article on the radiology presentations and complications of the COVID virus and which modalities can best image these features. Here are links to the two articles:

Manifestations of COVID-19, Part 1: Viral Pathogenesis and Pulmonary and Vascular System Complications. 

Multisystem Imaging Manifestations of COVID-19, Part 2: From Cardiac Complications to Pediatric Manifestations

The video is from the study lead-author Margarita Revzin, M.D., MS, FSRU, FAIUM, associate professor of radiology and biomedical imaging, Yale University School of Medicine, abdominal and emergency imaging, radiologist. She explains more details in the VIDEO: Overview COVID-19 Imaging Techniques Using X-ray, CT, MRI and Ultrasound.

Find more COVID medical imaging in the PHOTO GALLERY: How COVID-19 Appears on Medical Imaging. 

Darryl B. Sneag, M.D., a radiologist and director of peripheral nerve MRI at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City, explains how artificial intelligence (AI) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reconstruction algorithms have cut imaging times by 50 percent. This has enabled his facility to maintain the same number of patients as it did prior to the pandemic, while still having time to sterilize the scanners after each patient. 

Many radiology departments are now experiencing a backlog of cases due to COVID-19 shutdowns in 2020 and the limits on the number of patients that can be in the hospital for imaging exams due to pandemic containment precautions. Sneag said AI is now playing a role in helping streamline workflow.

HSS has 19 GE Healthcare MRI scanners and uses the Air Recon DL AI image reconstruction algorithm. This allows for shorter scan times, so the same number of patients as pre-pandemic can be imaged per day, even with deeper cleaning of the MRI bore. Sneag explains the algorithm has greatly helped with patient throughput, but the trade off is sometimes getting a ringing artifact on images.

HSS also uses GE's Air Coil flexible pad MRI coils. These can wrap around the patient to improve comfort and get the coils closer to the anatomy being imaged.

Related MRI and COVID Content:

Business During COVID-19 and Beyond

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GE Healthcare Addresses Growing Radiology Data Challenges at RSNA 2019

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Post-COVID Pain or Weakness? Request an Ultrasound or MRI

Find more COVID radiology-related content

Konica Minolta’s theme for RSNA 2020 is Depth of Vision. ITN recently talked with David Widmann, President and CEO of Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, about this focus and their key messages for customers and RSNA attendees.

Fujifilm's next generation secure server-side viewer platform extends across enterprise imaging areas to bring together radiology, mammography and cardiology into a single zero footprint platform. Bill Lacy, vice president of medical informatics for Fujifilm Medical Systems USA recently talked with ITN about their Synapse 7x platform.

Hicham Skali, M.D., a staff cardiologist and member of the Non-invasive Cardiovascular Imaging Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), and at Brigham and Women’s / Massachusetts General Health Care Center at Foxborough, explains the new recommendations from the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) and from imagers in China and Singapore. The ASNC created a best practices document for nuclear cardiology laboratories during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. The suggestions in the guidelines can ally to any imaging modality, including computed tomography (CT), MRI and ultrasound. 

Skali elaborates on the following points in his discussion, which are specific recommendations in the ASNC and SNMMI COVID-19 guidance document:
   • Rescheduling non-urgent visits
   • Rescheduling elective surgeries and procedures
   • Using separate spaces for patients with known or suspected COVID-19 to prevent spread
   • Ensuring supplies are available
   • Promoting use of telehealth
   • Screen staff, patients and visitors before they enter the department
   • Minimize non-essential visitors into the department
   • Record symptoms at the start of the shift
   • Use personal protective equipment (PPE)for healthcare personnel
   • If available, use PPE for patients due to concern of asymptomatic transmission of COVID-19
   • Maintain strict hand hygiene
   • Maintain 6 feet distance in all patient/staff interactions when possible
   • Work remotely whenever feasible, especially with ready studies
   • Rotating staff schedules for on-site and off-site work
   • Use of rest only studies if possible
   • Use of half-time SPECT to speed exam times
   • Use of PET if available to speed exam times

Skali served as the moderator in for the ASNC on demand webinar COVID-19 Preparedness for Nuclear Cardiology Labs: Insights from the US, China and Singapore.

VIDEO: Telemedicine in Cardiology and Medical Imaging During COVID-19 — Interview with Regina Druz, M.D., an ASNC Board member and also a speaker during the ASNC webinar.

Find more news and video on relating to COVID-19 and its impact on radiology

The Arietta 850SE provides facilities with numerous features and functionality to get the most out of a system. The CMUT probe performs the role of multiple probes while the single-crystal C252 probe gets increased penetration. eFocusing simplifies scanning techniques and shearwave elastography provides unique feedback on tissue stiffness.

At RSNA19, David Widmann, president and CEO of Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, discussed innovation, stressing the importance of academic relationships. 

Ajay Choudhri, M.D., chairman of radiology, Capital Health, Hopewell, N.J., explains his center's experience using an artificial intelligence (AI) application to help auto detect intracranial hemorrhage. There are several AI stroke auto detection apps now available with FDA clearance or in development that were shown at the Radiological Society Of North America (RSNA) 2019 meeting. These are being adopted by hospitals and multi-center radiology practices the U.S. to flag suspected cases of ischemic stroke or brain bleeds for immediate reads. 

The software also offers a second set of eyes for more difficult to detect cases. Quickly determining is a stroke is ischemic or hemorrhagic is critical to the path of treatment. If caught early enough, TPA can be injected into patients to clear clots causing an ischemic stroke, but can cause massive brain damage or death if injected into a patient with a brain bleed. At advanced neuro-interventional centers, quickly determining the type of stroke is needed to know if they need to revascularize a patient or manage a hemorrhage. 

Related Content:

How Artificial Intelligence Can Predict and Detect Stroke

MaxQ AI's Intracranial Hemorrhage Software to be Integrated on Philips CT Systems

Find more news and video from RSNA