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ALGOTEC DEBUTS
NEW IMAGE PROCESSING AND MANAGEMENT RSNA Booth 4312, South Hall Algotec Systems Ltd. introduces a range of significant upgrades and enhancements for its family of ImagiNet products‑‑which set a new standard for efficient, timely and cost‑effective medical image and data processing, management and distribution‑‑at the 1999 Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). New for MediFlow, Algotec's suite of workflow management tools, are the D‑Route (DICOM‑Route) smart agents, which automatically send important patient files where needed. "These agents actually study available data throughout the system, decide what information is relevant where and then relay it," said Kobi Margolin, Algotec vice president of marketing. For example, radiologists will automatically receive appropriate patient records from a HIS/RIS system, and their report will be routed effortlessly to the referring physician. This is an extremely sophisticated feature that eliminates significant interdepartmental paperwork as well as time consuming searches for pertinent information throughout the system," said Margolin. Similarly, using the Internet to distribute clinical information to appropriate medical professionals, Algotec introduces a "data push" feature for MediSurf, its web‑based access engine. "Once again, no extensive, time‑consuming searches are required," comments Margolin. "Authorized users simply open their web browser and find the information waiting. For radiologists on call over night, this is a significant time‑saving advantage." Also new to MediSurf is SurfLink, an advanced online conferencing tool that allows two users to consult about a study. The doctor reviewing the case may contact any other user online, who is notified about the conference by a pop‑up box. If he chooses to participate, the doctor is presented with the same study, and the two can then communicate through a shared cursor, chat channel and optional IP‑based audio and video conferencing tools. Margolin notes that this is an extremely cost‑effective alternative to traditional video satellite conferencing. Also debuting at RSNA is ProVision multi‑modality processing station version 4.0, which offers web‑based image accessing capabilities and advanced volume‑rendering features. Volume rendering creates 3D internal anatomical renderings based on complex volumetric image data. This contrasts with simpler surface rendering, which recreates external anatomical surfaces only. Volume Rendering is heavily dependent on complex mathematical computations, which are user‑controlled and determine how the rendering will appear. ProVision 4.0 allows users to create sophisticated protocols so that the same types of anatomical studies are consistently rendered using the same mathematical parameters. "Once a radiologist has identified a successful rendering technique, it can be reproduced time and time again. Protocols also allow absolute consistency when comparing similar studies," explains Margolin. Also new on ProVision 4.0 are volume‑rendering based virtual endoscopic and dedicated virtual colonoscopic tools that use CT and MRI studies to navigate through and interactively explore body cavities. Volume rendering allows users to look beyond cavity walls into surrounding tissue to search for possible abnormalities. More traditional surface‑based virtual rendering endoscopic tools are limited to viewing only the interior of the cavity walls. Algotec Systems Ltd. has been producing innovative products for the healthcare and PACS market since 1993. It was one of the pioneers of Web‑based image management systems and has the largest number of installations of this technology in the market today. Algotec is based in Raanana, Israel with U. S. offices in Duluth, Ga. |