From the April 2014 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


For years, most CTs and injectors have been connected to some extent. Until the CT is ready, the injector can’t be triggered for instance, but that’s been as far as integration has gone. More recently, the level of integration has increased dramatically. “Essentially the CT control console isn’t even needed — the CT injector is being controlled by the CT scanner,” says Launders.

“Bracco has taken that a step further,” says Launders. “With a very select number of CT scanners, they can link up and grab data from the CT like the patient’s heart rate for example. All that information can get grabbed by the injector.”


Bayer hasn’t been asleep at the wheel when it comes to improving its offerings either. “On the device side, we were the first company to launch a contrast informatics system,” says Dennis Durmis, head of the Americas region for Radiology & Interventional for Bayer HealthCare.” We’re looking at weight-based dosing and tying that information into the scanner, the RIS, the HIS, and the speech recognition system,” he says.

Bayer also has software called Radimetrics Enterprise Platform that ties into the management system to track total dose. The software was originally created by Radimetrics Inc. and became an asset when the company acquired Radimetrics in late 2012. The enterprise platform was showcased at RSNA last year and is available in the U.S. and Canada now. “It’s a single platform solution that manages radiation and contrast dose,” says Durmis. “It allows for data access in every area of the workflow.”

Whether the market’s ready to pay for the benefits of equipment integration remains to be seen, says Launders. “It’s difficult to make the case with ROI,” he says.

MR updates
The EmpowerMR Contrast Injection System is another offering from Bracco. “We have changed the industry with the first hydraulic MR injection system,” says Huang. “What makes Bracco’s EmpowerMR Injection System unique is the battery-free hydraulic system — which advantageously avoids risk of battery failure,” he says.

Another benefit is the fact that the system is MR conditional up to 7T. The unique design of the injection system has also improved workflow since there is no battery charging or changing.

Aiming for less
Technologists ideally want to deliver just the contrast needed to get the imaging procedure done. While it’s nice to have equipment that can adjust the release of saline to minimize the contrast’s length of stay, it’s even better for the patient when less contrast is introduced into the patient to start with.

April 2014 Magazine

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