Konica Minolta debuted its fluoroscopy-free, motion radiological platform last week at RSNA in Chicago. Its Dynamic Digital Radiography (DDR) visualizes movement through simple digital X-rays taken at a rate of 15 images per second.

The device is designed to allow physicians to see, in a single exam, critical interaction between organs, bones, and tissue, revealing subtle yet essential clues to a patient's condition.

“With DDR, a physician can note and measure physical anatomy changes over time,” Kirsten Doerfert, senior vice president for Marketing at Konica Minolta, told HCB News.

X-ray represents about 74 percent of all radiological studies and is the most common imaging procedure worldwide. In hospitals, 44 percent of X-rays are thoracic views, which DDR can complement.

One area in which the solution may make a difference is accessing a COPD patient’s respiratory function. A DDR thoracic exam example presented by Doerfert offered increased edge and lung field definitions, with the real-time motion view demonstrating diminished lung function on the left side.

In addition to diagnosis, disease progression and patient management, DDR is intended as a tool for post-surgical evaluation and may be of use outside of pulmonary function, with Konica Minolta currently exploring its use in orthopedic applications of the spine and extremities.

"Orthopedic physicians are excited about what DDR motion can tell them about joints and bones," said Doerfert. “DDR allows physicians to observe any anatomy that moves."

Konica Minolta also demonstrated new enhanced workflow in its Exa Enterprise Imaging Platform. The single worklist view pulls in data from multiple sources, such as PACS, RIS, billing and from specialty views, allowing each radiologist to assess and adopt the workflow that best suits their needs and habits.

New Exa features include a voice recognition platform by Google that replaces Dragon, a physician chat function, a peer review function, an improved study form template, and a self-service kiosk portal tool for performing a wide range of tasks, including electronic form sign-off.

Other Konica Minolta developments included the UGPro ultrasound unit, which uses a high-stream saline solution to cut and remove diseased tissues to allow for minimally-invasive procedures that provide patients comfort and convenience; and AeroRemote Insights, a comprehensive performance dashboard for its AeroDR Wireless Flat Panel Detector Systems that automatically collects and aggregates AeroDR system health and usage data into simple yet powerful analytical views.

DDR has been launched in Japan and is expected to receive FDA clearance in the first quarter of 2019.

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