Merge Healthcare, provider of medical imaging software and services, has announced the release of its Merge PET/CT Workstation software. Merge Healthcare, provider of medical imaging software and services, has announced the release of its Merge PET/CT Workstation software. Designed to readily accommodate standard methods used by radiologists to read images obtained by PET (Positron Emission and Tomography) and CT (Computed Tomography), Merge PET/CT Workstation is a vendor-neutral solution that maximizes digital reading with easy-to-use controls for advanced imaging and streamlined reporting.

"With PET/CT, health care specialists can view physiological activity in conjunction with anatomical location," said Chrysti Bowers, RTRM, Director of Clinical Solutions for Merge Healthcare. "Yet this clinical advantage can be lessened by the challenges posed by fusing the large PET and CT data sets. PET/CT practitioners from radiology, nuclear medicine and oncology must feel confident that technology will optimize clinical effectiveness while also maximizing workflow efficiency. Our new Merge PET/CT workstation delivers on both fronts."

Merge PET/CT has incorporated reading tools such as 3D volume rendering and hot-spot scout, and comprehensive reporting tools such as SUV (Standard Uptake Value) calculations and configurable colormaps. Workflow is enhanced by layouts that mimic PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication Systems) layouts split across dual monitors in panoramic mode. This allows simultaneous review of CT, PET Corrected, PET Uncorrected, PET/CT Fused and MIP images. Rigid registration between images allows simultaneous navigation through all data sets. Merge PET/CT also allows for DICOM connectivity to PACS solutions for easier image receiving and storage.

"Many physicians who read CT studies have been forced to practice directly on PET/CT consoles -- requiring them to be at a location where the modality is located," Bowers explains. "As a vendor-neutral application, Merge PET/CT Workstation can be used as a stand-alone workstation, or it can be integrated easily into a DICOM-compliant PACS environment. With this software, PET/CT images can be available immediately at a centralized workstation where other modalities are read -- saving time, minimizing frustration and enabling efficient reporting for PET/CT studies. Users of this solution recognize a real paradigm shift we're creating for molecular imaging.