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Canon's Vital Images wins DoD contract

by Thomas Dworetzky, Contributing Reporter | April 17, 2019
Business Affairs
Enterprise imaging provider Vital Images has landed a U.S. Department of Defense Defense Logistics Agency contract with a maximum $100,000,000 fixed‐price for radiology and imaging systems, maintenance and training services, the agency has announced.

The contract is for five years with a single five‐year option and an April 8, 2024, completion date. The Minnetonka, Minnesota-based firm will have customers in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies.

Vital had been part of Toshiba Medical and was acquired by Canon in 2016. Its Vitrea imaging solution connects PACS and data into an “interoperable enterprise imaging solution,” according to a company statement.

In March at the European Congress of Radiology, Canon introduced its new Global Illumination functionality for the Vitrea Advanced Visualization modular viewing platform.

The feature delivers photorealistic 3D renderings of human anatomy, making it easier to see small details like tendons, and makes communication about cases easier for professionals. It also makes it easier for patients to see their own anatomy and understand their issues, plus aiding in communication during autopsies and forensics.

“3D requires a very trained eye to read the 3D images. The communication with other professionals and patients is not so easy, and this new software, or the new way of rendering, helps to improve this way of communication,” Joerg Schlegel, senior product marketing manager for Canon Medical Systems Europe, told HCB News at the time. “We need technology like this to communicate among specialties, especially in sharing information with those who are not trained in reading MR and CT images.”

In February, Canon Medical also made news when it welcomed its Aquilion Prime SP and Aquilion Lightning 80 premium CT scanners into its radiation oncology portfolio, alongside its Aquilion LB system.

The company added options to the two native radiology modalities to make them more versatile and boost their utilization by providers.

“The Aquilion Prime and Aquilion Lightning 80, prior to these options, were radiology scanners that were used either in EDs or for scanning outpatients from a diagnostic capability,” Timothy Nicholson, senior manager for market development of CT at Canon, told HCB News at the time. “Now, with the extended options, such as the extended field of view and flat tabletop, providers can also utilize them for CT simulation in radiation oncology.”

The options in the RT package include a 70 cm extended field of view of the anatomy; an RT flat table top, for comfort and ease in scanning patients in the same position; respiratory gating, for robust flexibility of respiratory motion management; and LAP lasers, for improving in-room patient setup and technologist workflow.

Using the Aquilion Prime SP and Aquilion Lightning 80 detector scanners, healthcare providers can assess patients with 0.5 mm x 80 row PUREViSION detector technology, which can be field-upgraded from 80-160. The systems are also composed of a 78 cm bore, 50 cm field of view, AIDR 3D and SEMAR technologies, the company stated.

“It really allows them to use them as a shared scanner,” said Nicholson. “Radiology could buy the Aquilion Lightning or Prime, and share some of the time with the radiation oncology department to do some of their scanning. It’s about purchasing a scanner as a shared device within a hospital network.”

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