CARESTREAM PACS Workstation Successfully Competes With Dedicated 3D Workstations At ISCT Workstation Face-Off

Carestream's Native 3D Features Enhance Productivity, Workflow

Carestream Health showcased productivity-enhancing embedded 3D tools on its CARESTREAM Vue PACS workstation at the annual "Workstation Face-Off" that is part of the International Symposium on Multidetector-Row CT. The 2011 event was held on Tuesday, June 14, in San Francisco.

Hosted by the International Society of Computed Tomography (ISCT), the "Workstation Face-Off" requires radiologists to process and interpret several complex computed tomography (CT) imaging studies. According to the ISCT this event is designed "to stretch the capabilities of the workstations to their limits." This year each vendor was asked to present four cases: musculoskeletal; Brain CTA (including skull removal); vascular; and liver (including segmentation of the eight Couinaud segments). Three minutes were allowed per case, plus one additional cumulative minute for all the cases combined.

"All these cases were complex and required advanced and automatic processing tools for fast and efficient presentation. Carestream Health was the only equipment provider to analyze all the cases on a PACS workstation and we completed all the cases smoothly and within the prescribed time limits," said Cristine Kao, Carestream's Worldwide Healthcare Information Solutions Marketing Manager. "This competition proves again that we have an outstanding single-solution PACS 3D processing workstation."

Other participants used dedicated, highly specialized 3D workstations, some of which employ special purpose hardware to achieve the required speed. Despite these specialized workstations, some suppliers could not finish the cases within the time limits.

Radiologist Michalle Soudack, M.D., Head of Pediatric Radiology at the Safra Children's Hospital in Israel, presented cases for Carestream Health during the event.

"CT exams are an integral part of the radiology workflow. Being able to use a PACS workstation with embedded 3D tools greatly improves productivity and ease of use for radiologists," she said. "These tools not only save time but can also help enhance clinical accuracy. In addition, because of the inherent PACS benefits, users can access and manipulate all data from any workstation, regardless of its location."

Native Tools Streamline Workflow
Carestream Health was one of the first companies to have advanced 3D processing and image analysis tools native to its Vue PACS workstation. Workflow is streamlined since radiologists can read any type of imaging exam from a PACS workstation and do not need to go to move to dedicated 3D workstations with different user interfaces, tools and log ins. In addition, the CARESTREAM Vue PACS architecture enables 3D and other advanced features—along with its intuitive user interface—to be used on any web-enabled PC or workstation.

Advanced processing capabilities of the CARESTREAM PACS platform include: real-time 3D vessel analysis including automatic abdominal and cardiac vessel segmentation capabilities; automatic registration of volumetric exams including MPR, MIP and MinIP; cardiac exam review; PET-CT reading tools; orthopedic surgical planning; virtual colonoscopy and mammography-specific reading tools.

Carestream also offers a Vue Cardiology PACS that consolidates disparate cardiology lab systems into a centralized solution for lower total cost of ownership. It enables on-site or remote reading of cardiology data and provides review of echocardiography, cardiac cath, ECG, nuclear cardiology and hemodynamic results with fast, easy comparison of prior exams.

For more information, visit www.carestream.com.

About Carestream Health
Carestream Health is a worldwide provider of dental and medical imaging systems and healthcare IT solutions; molecular imaging systems for life science research and drug discovery/development; x-ray film and digital x-ray systems for non-destructive testing; and advanced materials for the precision films and electronics markets.

For more information, visit www.carestream.com.

SOURCE: Carestream Health