CAD Leader Joins with Ten Leading PACS Companies at Radiological Society of
North America to Announce Major Step in CAD Display Technology
CHICAGO, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- R2 Technology, Inc., the pioneer and
leader in computer-aided detection (CAD), today announced the industry's first
CAD on PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications System) workstations which
is being demonstrated here at the 89th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting
of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), Nov. 30 - Dec. 4, 2003.
Among the ten PACS companies displaying R2's ImageChecker(R) CAD system
results at RSNA are Agfa, Philips Medical Systems, IBM, Stentor, Merge eFilm,
Cedara, Rogan Delft, Cerner, PacsCube and Sectra Medical Systems. With R2's
OmniCAD platform, the ability to display and archive CAD marks on PACS for
mammography, CT lung and CR/DR chest represents a major step in making CAD
processing universally accessible using R2's new CAD display technology.
"As part of our OmniCAD(TM) platform, we believe it is essential for
radiologists to display and archive CAD results on the workstation of their
choice," said Michael Klein, president and CEO of R2. "By working with the
leaders in PACS and utilizing the DICOM standard for CAD, it is our goal to
offer a viable clinical solution for review of multi-modality CAD results
integrated with other patient information at a centralized location,
regardless of the originating modality."
The R2 ImageChecker(R) CAD system is approved by the FDA for use in both
film-based and digital mammography to assist in minimizing false negative
readings. CAD is used by increasing numbers of radiologists as "a second pair
of eyes" when reading a woman's mammogram. Analogous to a spellchecker system
on a personal computer, this technology uses computer algorithms to identify
areas on the mammogram containing physical characteristics that may warrant a
second review by the radiologist. Clinical trials have demonstrated that use
of the ImageChecker system as an adjunct to review by the radiologist can
improve breast cancer detection rates up to 23.4 percent. To date, R2 has
shipped more than 1,000 film and digital-based systems worldwide and nearly
eight million mammograms have been interpreted with the aid of the
ImageChecker CAD system.
R2 has also developed CAD for the early detection of suspicious lung
nodules for CT, CR and DR. The ImageChecker CT LN-1000, which is pending FDA
approval in the U.S., has already been commercially installed in Europe and
R2's CR/DR Chest CAD product is currently under development.
According to a recent Frost & Sullivan report, the growth rate for PACS is
approximately 10 percent per year with 1200-1500 PACS installations across the
U.S. The report indicates PACS is quickly becoming an enterprise solution for
the delivery and management of both radiology studies and other studies such
as cardiology and visible light. Research has shown that moving from a film
based environment to a digital environment cuts costs from $25-$35 per study
to $10 - $15 per study over the seven year life cycle of that study. But the
main benefit of PACS is the improved efficiency and collaborative capabilities
between radiologists and clinicians resulting in better care delivered to
patients as well as the ability to apply sophisticated image analysis tools to
improve radiologists' interpretation of clinical studies.
"With the continued growth in PACS around the country, it is imperative
that CAD results can be easily accessed by the radiologist while minimizing
the need for additional workstations and capital equipment," added Klein.
"This is yet another step in delivering our OmniCAD platform and it is
especially significant that CAD results from multiple modalities, such as
mammography, CT, and CR/DR, can be displayed on PACS in the radiology
environment. We see this as a substantial cost, space and time savings advance
for a busy radiology department."
About R2 Technology, Inc.
R2 Technology, Inc., headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., is a recognized
leader in the development and commercialization of computer-aided detection
(CAD), an innovative technology that assists radiologists in the early
detection of breast cancer and other abnormalities. As a medical software
company, R2 is developing CAD systems for a variety of imaging modalities and
disease states. R2 recently received an "A" rating from MD Buyline and was
given the 2003 Frost and Sullivan Product Leadership Award. For information,
visit http://www.r2tech.com.
NOTE: ImageChecker is a registered trademark and OmniCAD is a trademark
of R2 Technology, Inc.
SOURCE R2 Technology, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.r2tech.com
CONTACT:
press, Laurie Hallwyler, +1-408-481-5654, or
lhallwyler@r2tech.com, or Chris K. Joseph, +1-408-481-5668, or
cjoseph@r2tech.com, both of R2 Technology, Inc.
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