Fujifilm Medical Systems U.S.A. announced over the weekend that clinical trials for its 3-D digital mammography technology will soon begin in the U.S. The company is installing 3-D mammography systems at medical centers nationwide with the aim of beginning trials as early as next month.
The breast screening technology presents the images to radiologists in an in-depth, three-dimensional view. Pairs of stereo images of the breast are acquired and then viewed by combining a 3-D review workstation and dedicated glasses designed to present the images. The system is already available in Europe, and clinicians are expressing great interest in the technology, according to Satoshi Arakawa, VP of the medical systems division at Fujifilm Europe.
"After thorough evaluation of needs of the patients and clinicians, we believe that, when approved by the FDA, Fujifilm's 3D Digital Mammography has the potential to become the standard of care," said David Hotchkiss, director of modality solutions marketing at Fujifilm, in a statement. "We remain committed to improving our breast screening technologies, and we are confident that this will be the screening technology of choice."
In addition, Fujifilm unveiled the latest addition to its Synapse RIS and TeleRIS applications. Version 6.1 includes graphical dashboards that allow users to better monitor and manage performance in real time; Synapse Financials for RIS, which provides an option of incorporating practice management into the system; and advanced dose management features.
"With version 6.1 end users can address Meaningful Use requirements and use improved tools to manage patient dose along with a new financial management optimization feature designed to improve facility operations," said Jim Morgan, Fujifilm's VP of medical informatics, in a statement.
- see the Fujifilm release
- check out the Synapse release