January 5, 2012 — At RSNA 2011, Fujifilm will highlight enhanced features for its flagship digital radiography (DR) system, the FDR AcSelerate. The new features are necessary to perform dual energy subtraction with multi-stage registration (MSR) and tomosynthesis exams.
The DR suite features a new fixed cesium iodide detector with performance comparable to selenium by incorporating Fujifilm’s irradiation side sampling (ISS) advanced detector technology. ISS improves detective quantum efficiency (DQE) by reducing the distance for light signals to reach the capture electronics. When combined with the dose efficiency benefits of cesium iodide, this unique innovation achieves one of the highest DQE’s available and provides significant dose efficiency improvements compared to conventional CsI detectors. By reducing scatter and blur of the fluorescence light, ISS can produce sharper images with greater detail to enhance diagnostic confidence for the radiologist. This system will be able to perform advanced studies including:
Dual Energy Subtraction Using the FDR AcSelerate
Fujifilm’s FDR AcSelerate also enables Dual Energy Subtraction exams, which may help to eliminate obstructions in spotting anomalies in lung fields by capturing two images which result in three separate views: a standard radiographic image, a bone-only image and a soft tissue image. This is particularly useful in chest exams, providing clinicians the ability to obtain a more unobscured view of suspect pathology hidden by overlying bones. Fujifilm’s approach to dual energy subtraction is further differentiated by three advanced features:
· Multi-stage Registration, which recognizes and corrects the image to reduce motion artifacts (caused from heartbeats, breathing or patient movement).
· Patient Size Compensation, which recognizes high density anatomy to optimize the image to clarify over or under penetrated areas of the entire image.
· Advanced Noise Reduction, which selectively suppresses noise at multiple frequency levels without losing sharpness.
FDR AcSelerate and Tomosynthesis
The recent upgrades to Fujfilm’s FDR AcSelerate will make it possible for the system to complete future Tomosynthesis exams. Tomosynthesis is an advanced imaging technique that will create images of slices through the body using a general X-ray system with a digital radiography detector. This is accomplished by obtaining multiple images across a range of projection angles of the X-ray tube. FDR AcSelerate will capture up to 60 images in one fluid sweep. Images are then displayed on the PACS workstation.
Additionally, performing tomosynthesis on an AcSelerate system can be a particularly useful application when prescreening patients to rule-out the need for traditional CT exams. This is especially beneficial to the patient since tomosynthesis can be performed at considerably less dose than a CT exam.
For more information: www.fujimed.com