Progress is being made, but more can be done to protect our patients and the medical community. I believe the only way to make low dose take hold is to mandate it by including low-dose imaging as part of the accreditation review either by IAC or ACR.

DOTmed News: You attended the 100th meeting of the RSNA last November. What did you see as the big take away from that meeting?


YS: The main two topics from RSNA 2014 were enterprise imaging and dose reduction.

Enterprise imaging was heavily discussed throughout the show. We are experiencing a time where many hospitals are acquiring imaging centers. With each acquisition comes a facility that has its own particular technologies and systems, providing hospitals with a challenge in getting these new additions, along with its existing network, onto the same page in terms of functioning collaboratively. Integration is critical - and PACS systems, viewing stations, CAD systems and support systems must all be able to gather information from all modalities of all departments to operate efficiently. A single, completely unified imaging platform enables the archiving, reporting, advanced image processing and integration of all clinical information. Understandably, for high performance results - the imaging workflow must be standardized across the entirety of the hospital's network.

Dose reduction was the second topic that saw greater awareness than ever before during RSNA. Discussions highlighted the need to lower radiation dose for safer imaging and showcased the ways technology was enabling the reduction of dose by 60 to 80 percent - and even 85 percent in CT systems.

My personal take away is that we have to continue the push towards low-dose imaging in all modalities and to look for advanced 'outcomes-based' payment system and physician support tools. The goal is to improve quality of care - for both the physician / clinical staff and the patient -- as well as the overall cost effectiveness to the payer.

DOTmed News: What makes UltraSPECT unique among other dose reduction tools?

YS: Among all the benefits of UltraSPECT products there are three which make them truly unique:

1. Quarter count density - UltraSPECT offers the only software solution coping with quarter count density i.e. half-dose and half-time scan, or quarter-time scan or quarter-dose (ultra-low-dose). Patients will not only benefit from less dose, but can also have the ease of mind of a shorter exam time. This is especially beneficial for facilities who are imaging older or extrelemly sick patients who cannot tolerate a long scan.

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