In May, Dunlee also launched the TSA program - Tube Service Assistant, an online tutorial for service engineers. When registered on the secured web link, users can access step-by-step instructions for installing and de-installing a Performix tube on a GE light speed CT system.

"It is a unique system that no one else offers," said Spees. Dunlee has attended the AHRA conference for the past 20 years, and plans on unveiling a new product at the RSNA.


Canon Medical Systems

Canon has solutions so that facilities can upgrade their systems without spending the money on a new DR system and reconstruction. They are able to do so with their new -- and smaller -- CXDI-60G, a portable, compact digital radiography system, with an ultra-portable flat panel detector.

This system can be used at multiple patient locations, including patient's bedside, orthopedics, trauma, ICU and even fits into neonatal incubator trays. The detector is easy to position and its smooth edges allow it to slide under patients comfortably and simply. The detector can be pulled out and put into different systems.

"If a detector is placed in another system, you configure the buckey, fit in the digital plate, and then you can rotate it as you wish," said Canon Medical System's Yi.

Carestream Health

The line between RIS and PACS has been blurred with Carestream's fully integrated RIS and PACS, Version 11. "With this version, it will be a single solution and the line will fade," said Michael Hornback, RIS PACS Specialist.

On the PACS, the slices of the X-ray image come up on the screen and you can use the mouse to scroll up and down through the body image. All of the clinical data is in the RIS and the imaging data is in the PACS, but they synchronize on two different computer screens.

"One program doesn't do both, they come as a couple," said Hornback. The new system is still going to be a RIS PACS, but the difference is that you can have a PACS with a different RIS. There are also different functions like voice recognition and inserting key images that you can do in either program. Not to mention, it comes equipped with advanced 3D tools.

"This is the Swiss Army knife of tools," he said. "In under a minute, you can isolate one part of an image by increasing of transparency of everything, except the part in focus."

Hologic

Hologic had one of the biggest booths at the show, displaying a large amount of their equipment aimed at women's healthcare. The two latest products for mammography were Radiolucent Breast Cushions, or "Mammo Pads," and the Mammo Site. The Mammo pads are soft and come in various sizes, making a mammogram more comfortable, reducing pain and adding warmth. The pads do not interfere with image clarity and studies have found that because women are more comfortable and less tense, technicians are able to get more breast tissue during an exam. This has been well received by patients, making the product popular.

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