Canon is releasing its new portable X-ray detector, the CXDI-60G, to the US market.

From Canon's press release:

The Canon CXDI-60G Portable Flat Panel Detector succeeds the Company's popular CXDI-31, the world's first portable cassette-type DR system, introduced in September 2001. Offering a more ergonomic and portable form than its predecessor, the CXDI-60G Portable Flat Panel Detector realizes a new level of freedom and immediacy for diagnosis in the X-ray room and beyond. Thin, lightweight and robust, the CXDI-60G Portable Flat Panel Detector offers true portability and flexibility in high-quality DR. Added benefits include low power consumption and a detachable sensor cable for convenient maintenance and installation. The model's detachable sensor cable, which provides power to the unit and transfers data, enables easy room-to-room installation from multiple locations such as the patient's bedside or wheelchair, trauma or ICU (with an optional power box and PC) and fits right into most neo-natal incubator trays.

Weighing just 5.9 pounds and measuring less than an inch thick, the lightweight and slim-body Canon CXDI-60G Portable Flat Panel Detector offers an effective imaging area of 9 x 11 inches, accommodating a diverse range of applications, including the X-raying of hands, elbows, feet and knees, among the most common orthopedic examinations. Enabling X-ray images to be confirmed on an optional preview monitor approximately three seconds after exposure, the system contributes to timely and effective patient care.

Additionally, Canon's proprietary control software, which supports enhanced image-processing performance, contributes to increased diagnostic accuracy by making possible X-ray images optimized for the area being examined. Images can be transmitted almost immediately over the hospital network to other workstations and printers, and can be archived for fast and easy data sharing.

Press release: CANON U.S.A. EXPANDS ITS LINE OF DIGITAL RADIOGRAPHY OFFERINGS WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF THE CANON CXDI-60G PORTABLE DIGITAL RADIOGRAPHY SYSTEM

Product brochure: CXDI-60g

Barco, a Belgian firm that makes various visualization devices, is proud of the sales success its diagnostic display has created. And this is not without reason, as the monitor boasts a 3280 x 2048 native resolution and the following features:

Multi-modality PACS imaging The Diagnostic Luminance system delivers a DICOM-calibrated luminance of 800 cd/m², allowing for simultaneous reading of color, grayscale and fused modalities. Coronal views, for instance, can now be combined with smaller MIPS and volume rendered images on the same screen to facilitate diagnostic decisions.

Diagnostic precision
The integrated ULT of Coronis Fusion 6MP DL distributes the brightness equally over the entire 30-inch screen surface. Supported by an intelligent backlight design, this reduces non-uniformities caused by the LCD as well as the backlight to less than 10%. As a result, all images comply perfectly to the DICOM standard, no matter where they are positioned on the screen.

Automated Quality Assurance
The latest version of MediCal QAWeb, combined with the unique I-Guard sensor, ensures fully automated image Quality Assurance with no need for human intervention. MediCal QAWeb tracks, maintains and logs viewing performance, automates QA tasks, initiates display system calibration and establishes an accurate DICOM Look-Up Table calibration.

Increased performance
The new Coronis Fusion 6MP DL display system is driven by a high-speed MXRT display controller, specifically designed to support 3D PACS applications with 30-bit color precision. As a result, Coronis Fusion 6MP DL is ready for the latest 3D CT, MR and PET applications in combination with standard 2D PACS reading.

From a recent press release by the company:

The system introduces the world’s first seamless 30-inch color LCD that can be used either as two seamless 3 MegaPixel heads or as one wide-screen 6 MegaPixel display. This makes it possible for radiologists to read chest X-ray, CT, MR, cath and echo cardiogram images, or any other combination, side by side on a single diagnostic screen. This wide-screen LCD screen is combined with a high-performance display controller and an online system for automated softcopy Quality Assurance, resulting in a turnkey solution for PACS imaging.

In their search for the preferred softcopy display solution, the Beatrix Hospital set up a steering group that brought together the radiology department, a Clinical Physicist and an external consultancy company.

Press release: Barco's 6 MegaPixel diagnostic display system gains wide acceptance...

Product page: Coronis Fusion 6MP Diagnostic Luminance...

Researchers from University of Wisconsin-Madison with the help of creative minds from Italy's Rezzonico Design have created an ultrasound probe with a more ergonomic shape, which may take a lot of the pain out of being a sonographer. The device won a Silver from the 2008 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) in the Medical & Scientific category.

From IDEA:

The appleprobe is an ultrasound transducer probe that can be held with a traditional pincer grip as well as in a new way that follows the natural alignment of the hand and wrist. Sonographers often experience repetitive strain injuries in their hands and wrists that are believed to be caused by the pinching and pushing of the pincer grip. This dual grip allows sonographers to switch the way they hold the ultrasound transducer throughout the exam and throughout the day, reducing discomfort and injuries.

Here's a PDF brochure about the appleprobe:

IDEA award details...