Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Still Following The Green Brick Road

My friend Brad from Dynamic Imaging, oops, I mean GE Healthcare, noticed my queries about the "hybrid" Centricity offerings, and was kind enough to fill us in on the latest. He attached some brochures that are not yet available online, but perhaps those links will be forthcoming. Here is the new deal:

We’ve heard from the PACSMan at RSNA, and read several recent AuntMinnie.com postings that you’re interested in an update about the “hybrid” Centricity PACS and Centricity PACS-IW technology that GE was showing at this past RSNA. We’re happy to provide you with an update, as well as provide collateral documents (See attached) that go into even greater detail.

Introduced at RSNA 2008, Centricity PACS Web Diagnostic (“Web DX”) provides a Web-based diagnostic viewer for Centricity PACS 3.0 users. Web DX has been developed using groundbreaking technology, leveraging the Centricity PACS trusted backend infrastructure, advanced patented streaming capabilities, and the award winning Centricity PACS-IW viewer. Web DX has received clearance from the FDA (510K) for primary interpretation, and is available for sale worldwide today (English-version).

Web DX delivers the speed and functionality of the PACS-IW viewer through the use of advanced streaming technology connected directly to the Centricity PACS backend. The potential workflow of a Web DX user is multi-fold --- any user who seeks anywhere access to all studies and reports on their Centricity PACS system, a radiologist who seeks to interpret studies from home or at the imaging center away from the main hospital, sophisticated clinicians (oncologist, orthopedist, neurologist) seeking advanced 3D tools wherever they need them (e.g., in the OR, at home, at the office), or for referring physicians simply desiring images and reports wherever they are.

The Web DX Study List is populated directly from the Centricity PACS database, and just like PACS-IW, the Study List is easily customized with a tabbed interface, and imaging studies are viewed on-demand. Quickly loaded with advanced streaming, the studies are hung across the single or multi-monitor screen real estate using comprehensive hanging protocols. All of the feature-rich viewing tools of PACS-IW are available, to include 3D (MIP/MPR) and the innovative (patent-pending) SNAP! Tool for rapid study layouts and series hanging without the need for the traditional drag-n-drop. The user can also display an unlimited number of relevant prior studies and their reports for comparison. Once an unread study is loaded into Web DX, study locking mechanisms are in place so users on Web DX and Centricity PACS cannot both dictate and change the study status to “read” (Note: Centricity PACS v3.0.5 is required to use this exam locking feature). In addition to the above, four (optional) clinical applications are also supported via Web DX today: Orthocrat TraumaCad for orthopedic templating and surgical planning; Barco Voxar 3D and Terarecon AquariusNet integrations for advanced visualization; and peerVue qiVue for peer review, critical results management and ER discrepancy reporting.

We’re truly excited about Web DX and the functionality it can bring to our worldwide Centricity PACS customers. Please encourage your readers to contact their GE Sales Executives for more information.


Translation: GE has grafted IntegradWeb onto Centricity 3.x, theoretically for use as a web viewer. This was certainly an immediate need, because in my humble OPINION, the only viewer worse than Centricity RA-1000 is Centricity Web (the old version). IN MY OPINION, that is.

I, for one, will lobby hard for the use of WebDX as my main reading client, and I'll bet I'm not the only Centricity user who will do so.

Many thanks, Brad!

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