IMPAX Mobile Worklist is an upgrade to Agfa HealthCare’s IMPAX RIS that enables mobile devices, such as an Apple iPad mobile digital device, to collect RIS data including patient information and signatures electronically. The ability to enter and access this information in real time, regardless of location within the facility, results in better informed technologists, a paperless workflow, a more efficient exam process, and increased patient satisfaction. The device enables technologists to enter and access patient data and clinical information from any location, including in the emergency room, during portable exams, or at the patient’s bedside. Starting at the front desk, IMPAX Mobile Work list is designed to improve a radiology department or imaging centre workflow by enabling staff to eliminate paper at the check-in process by collecting patient data, including signatures, electronically. Eliminating the use of paper also helps to reduce error or misinterpretation and makes key information available to all staff at all times. Technologists can also use it to collect medical information such as allergies or other health issues, and then ask for the patients to complete questionnaires. They can then present this information, as well as concise analysis on patient wait times and technologist efficiency, to the radiologist throughout the workflow. IMPAX Mobile Worklist also improves technologists’workflow on the hospital floor, away from the radiology department. Its flexibility allows a technologist or physician to take it on rounds or dock it on the desktop. Technologists have first-hand access to all exams for a selected day, including completed, scheduled, and ongoing exams. IMPAX Mobile Worklist provides the ability to begin, end, and re-queue exams on the mobile screen with the ability to track, in real-time, patient arrivals without being tied to a RIS workstation.
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The new syngo DynaCT 360 software speeds up rotational angiography. This software appl icat ion provides an angiography system that can rotate 360 degrees in six seconds to provide CT-like slice images with a field of view of 35 x 25 cm. Up till now the C-arm has taken 16 seconds to achieve such extensive soft tissue coverage, as is necessary for abdominal interventions. With a larger field of view the volume of a patient’s anatomy recorded during a rotation now measures 35 x 25 cm. In addition, the new application can record the field of view roughly twice as fast as before, thus reducing motion artefacts on the images. Thanks to the shorter recording time, patients do not need to hold their breath for as long. Additionally the examination requires less contrast agent and patients are exposed to less radiation. This software advances the technology that creates CT-like slice images from approximately 400 images made during a rotational angiography, and displays them on screen in the angiography suite while the intervention is still in progress. Physicians can now arrive at a precise diagnosis without needing to transfer the patient to the CT suite, especially in the case of unexpected complications during the intervention.
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The Cardiovascular Package for the new Aplio series ultrasound systems features ‘Picture Perfect Ultrasound’ for the cardiovascular segment on Aplio 300, 400, and 500 together with advanced features such as Tissue Enhancement and Wall Motion Tracking. The Cardiovascular Package which has been developed together with key opinion leaders in Japan, Europe, and the USA, includes features such as Tissue Enhancement for extreme image quality in transthoracic and transesophageal imaging, flexible M-Mode, comprehensive measurement programs, an on-board reporting module, a very user-friendly stress echo imaging tool, and a soft ware for automatic measurement of intima-media-thickness (IMT)’. The new Aplios can operate a wide range of high performance transducers offering for many applications in the areas of echocardiography and vascular imaging powerful, user friendly, and flexible workflow solutions. A highlight of the Cardiovascular Package is the new Wall Motion Tracking application. ‘High-fi delity’ raw data-based speckle tracking technology from the latest version of the Artida, Toshiba’s flagship product in echocardiography, is now available on the new Aplio series supporting the initiative of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) and the European Association of Echocardiography (EAE) to achieve a standardization of speckle tracking measurements. Wall Motion Tracking on the new Aplio is easy-to-operate, contains comprehensive measurement capabilities, including various strain and strain rate parameters, and can be evaluated directly on the ultrasound system or off -line on the post-processing workstation.
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An early risk assessment of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) patients is essential for optimizing treatment and rational resource allocation. Adrenomedullin (ADM) has a significant presence in the course of LRTI and is strongly associated with a patient’s risk of mortality and severe complications. ADM reflects a patient’s risk profile while its elevation is independent of the LRTI etiology. A robust method to assess ADM levels is the measurement of a stable surrogate marker, the midregional fragment of ProAdrenomedullin (MR-proADM). The only available automated immunoassay is from Thermo Fisher Scientific. Biomarkers are an additional or alternative tool to improve prognostic accuracy of clinical scores such as Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI), C(U)RB etc. The validation of new biomarkers showed that ProArenomedullin performed best as a prognostic marker reflecting severity and prognosis, particularly if combined with clinical risk scores. Directly reflective of ADM production in a 1:1 ratio and well documented for clinical use, the measurement of ProADM (MR-proADM) by immunoassay provides results that are rapidly available to aid timely clinical decision-making. The assay features small sample volume (26μL) and measurement in EDTA plasma.
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