November 2008
Expanded Opportunities at RSNA 2008
Every year, the RSNA Board of Directors modifies the annual meeting program to align with the needs of the radiological community. This year's program features a number of expanded opportunities for dialogue and education, including a special 'Japan Presents' Integrated Science and Practice (ISP) Session in conjunction with the Japan Radiological Society.
The constantly evolving nature of the annual meeting helps keep healthcare professionals coming back to Chicago, and this year attendance is projected to expand again with pre-registration running 3% ahead of 2007.
In addition to more people, the 2008 RSNA also features more exhibit space than ever before with an expansion from two exhibit halls at McCormick to three, so there will be more to see, more to do, and more real-estate to cover. To make sure you know the room assignments for the sessions, floor plans for each building, as well as the shuttle bus schedule, the official RSNA 2008 Pocket Guide is available for download and review.
Technology to Expand Opportunity
While you're at the RSNA, we invite you to stop by the Toshiba exhibit (#3429, Hall A) and discuss new technological enhancements to improve patient care. Last year, Toshiba launched the world's first dynamic volume CT system — the Aquilion® ONE. This year in Toshiba's exhibit, you can discover how the unique capabilities of the 320 detector row Aquilion ONE are bringing positive changes to patient care around the world.
Recent enhancements in Ultrasound and MR breast imaging techniques produce new opportunities to enhance women's health. Although Mammography is still the gold standard for detecting micro-calcifications in the breast, Toshiba's new, proprietary ultrasound technology called MicroPure™, can help identify and eventually characterize these micro-calcifications. MicroPure and new Elastography (works-in progress) techniques will be showcased in the ultrasound portion of Toshiba's exhibit, as well as in a Monday evening non-RSNA Satellite Symposium.
Recent clinical experience with the Radiance Plus Breast Imaging Suite (works-in-progress) will also be highlighted during the Monday evening symposia. For a closer view of the Radiance Plus Suite, demonstrated on Toshiba's Vantage™ Atlas and Vantage Titan™ MR systems, please stop by and see us in the South Building.
Radiographers in today's healthcare systems are looking for help to streamline these critical radiological procedures. Toshiba's exhibit at the 2008 RSNA will feature the RADREXTM-i, with high-resolution detectors to help ensure the best image quality at the lowest possible dose. RADREX-i includes a number of time saving features to assure you get the maximum productivity for your department.
While you are exploring the expanded exhibit floor at RSNA this year, please stop by Toshiba (#3429, Hall A). We look forward to discussing your challenges and exploring opportunities to help you enhance patient care in your community.
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AHRA and Toshiba Announce Patient First Program
Improving patient care and safety in diagnostic imaging is an important issue to hospitals, physicians and administrators today. Helping to support this need, the AHRA has created the Patient First Program funded by an unrestricted educational grant from Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.
The Patient First Program will provide grants to hospitals to create programs, training and/or seminars to improve patient care and safety in CT, MR, Ultrasound, X-ray and X-ray Vascular diagnostic imaging and to develop best imaging practices to share with other hospitals.
"With hospitals being pressured to lower costs while continuing to provide the highest level of patient care, this type of program funding is more critical today than ever before," said Edward J. Cronin, Jr., CAE and executive director, AHRA. "The Patient First grants will allow hospitals to fund important programs and training to improve the quality of care they offer."
The AHRA will award three Patient First grants of $7,500. All eligible hospitals are encouraged to apply by completing an application at www.ahraonline.org or www.medical.toshiba.com. The deadline to apply is November 15, 2008.
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Increasing Productivity and Patient Comfort While Eliminating Film
In today's healthcare environment, maximizing imaging resources and improving patient throughput is critical to success. Toshiba's Kalare™ X-ray system helps medical centers accomplish these goals while lowering costs and improving patient care. The system is also specifically designed to accommodate the needs of busy facilities, like Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital in Texas, a Level III Trauma Center which uses two Kalare systems.
"The versatility of Toshiba's Kalare R&F system coupled with its high-quality images resulted in immediate improvements in patient care, increased overall workflow and eliminated the need for conventional film," stated Freddie Gibson, director, Medical Imaging Services, Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital.
In addition, the system allows clinicians flexibility to obtain images from virtually any position without moving the patient for improved comfort and faster exams. This makes it ideal for imaging ambulatory, wheelchair and stretcher patients. This flexibility also dramatically increases room utilization and overall operational efficiency.
"The Kalare has saved my department time by helping us complete most of our studies twice as fast as we used to," said Gibson. "The Kalare is extremely user-friendly, making it comfortable for technologists to perform multiple exams a day with little fatigue. Some exams, which used to require two technologists, can now be performed by one. The chief technologist now has more time to oversee the entire department and work one-on-one with staff."
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