The Knowbot Information Service (KIS), also known as netaddress, provides a uniform user interface to a variety of remote directory services such as whois, finger, X.500, MCIMail. By submitting a single query to KIS, a user can search a set of remote white pages services and see the results of the search in a uniform format.
There are several interfaces to the KIS service including e-mail and telnet. Another KIS interface imitates the Berkeley whois command.
KIS consists of two distinct types of modules which interact with each other (typically across a network) to provide the service. One module is a user agent module that runs on the KIS mail host machine. The second module is a remote server module (possibly on a different machine) that interrogates various database services across the network and provides the results to the user agent module in a uniform fashion. Interactions between the two modules can be via messages between Knowbots or by actual movement of Knowbots.
BSD Authentication, otherwise known as BSD Auth, is an authentication framework and software API employed by some Unix-like operating systems, specifically OpenBSD and BSD/OS, and accompanying system and application software such as OpenSSH and Apache. It originated with BSD/OS and although the specification and implementation were donated to the FreeBSD project by BSDi, ultimately OpenBSD chose to adopt the framework in release 2.9. Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) serves a similar purpose on other operating systems such as Linux, FreeBSD and NetBSD.
BSD Auth performs authentication by executing scripts or programs as separate processes from the one requiring the authentication. This prevents the child authentication process from interfering with the parent except through a narrowly defined inter-process communication API, a technique inspired by the principle of least privilege and known as privilege separation. This behaviour has significant security benefits, notably improved fail-safeness of software, and robustness against malicious and accidental software bugs.[1] PAM uses an alternative system where the modules providing authentication are dynamically linked into the requesting process. This method is considered to be more flexible than BSD Auth[citation needed], but does not provide privilege separation without additional configuration.
DYMO DiscPainter is a Cd dvd printer that inks a user’s image-of-choice directly onto the disc, eliminating the need for labels.[1]
The device prints directly onto spinning CD’s or DVD’s[2] in 60 seconds for a 600dpi image. For a 1200dpi image the print time is reportedly about 3 minutes.[3]
DiscPainter is manufactured by DYMO, a company that specializes in label-making devices.
According to the New York Times, the printer is small, silent and easy to use. They note however that the DiscPainter only works with inkjet-printable discs which are a few dollars more expensive than regular discs.[4]
The inkjet printer is useful to individuals in creative industries like designers, photographers, and artists who need to produce visually compelling discs
Yahoo announced plans to sell its HotJobs employment search service to Monster worldwide for $225m, who currently control one-third of online jobs postings in the United States, it said yesterday.
Human brains cannot manage more than 150 friendships – even with the advent of social networking websites like Facebook, Bebo and Myspace. This is the conclusion of Robin Dunbar, Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Oxford. Dunbar originally carried out research in this area in the 1990s, looking at social groups from modern offices back to ancient villages. He found that the neocortex in the brain, used for thinking and language, cannot cope with more than 150 friends – a conclusion known as “Dunbar’s number”. Groups of people tend to be limited to about 150 as, beyond that, social cohesion suffers. Revisiting the topic, Dunbar’s view is that this number has not increased even with online methods of keeping in touch with friends, like Facebook.
Dunbar compared the online activity of those with thousands of internet friends and those with hundreds, before concluding that there was no appreciable difference in their levels of activity. He defined a friend as someone that the individual cared about and made contact with at least yearly. “The interesting thing is that you can have 1,500 friends but when you actually look at traffic on sites, you see people maintain the same inner circle of around 150 people that we observe in the real world. [...] People obviously like the kudos of having hundreds of friends but the reality is that they’re unlikely to be bigger than anyone else’s”, he observed.
Another conclusion of his study was that women were better at keeping friendships going on Facebook than men – “girls are much better at maintaining relationships just by talking to each other. Boys need to do physical stuff together”. The full results of his study are due to be published later in 2010.
Dunbar, 52, has been an Oxford professor since 2007, having previously been Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Liverpool. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and and a fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford.
Elbit Systems of America, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Elbit Systems Ltd. ( ESLT) announced receipt of contracts from the United States Marine Corps (USMC) for Elbit Systems of America Helmet Display and Tracker System (HDTS) for the USMC AH-1W Attack Helicopter. The contract effort covers the development of retrofit kits to incorporate HDTS into the AH-1W helicopter. Elbit Systems of America will be assisted in this program by subcontractors Elbit Systems Ltd. Aerospace Division as well as Service Support Associates Inc. Elbit Systems of America was chosen based upon the previously successful 1st flight of HDTS on the USMC AH-1W in November 2007 at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland.
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The program is valued at $8.2 million and is to be performed through 2010. Award of a contract for HDTS production kits and installation is expected in September 2010.
The HDTS system provides significant increases in situational awareness and safety by allowing pilots to fly “head out of the cockpit” during day and night operations and combines it with Other Pilot Line of Sight (OPLOS) information. This information further increases crew situational awareness and effectiveness, while reducing workload. The system is based on the proven Elbit Systems ANVIS/HUD(R) which has been in use by U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines and U.S. Air Force rotary wing pilots since the mid- 1990’s. The system is installed on most of the U.S. utility and cargo helicopter fleet platforms, including the UH-60L, CH-53E, CH-47D, CH-46E, UH-1N, V-22 and others, and has seen extensive operational use in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Commenting on the contract milestone, Raanan Horowitz, President and CEO of Elbit Systems of America said, “Elbit Systems of America is pleased and honored to support the USMC AH-1W team. The previous demonstration efforts were completed months ahead of schedule and we will press ahead for similar results in this program phase. Production deliveries of the HDTS will provide greatly enhanced situational awareness and reduce cockpit workload for the USMC war-fighter in the AH-1W cockpit.”
In combination with OPLOS and weapons aiming and targeting information, the HDTS will provide US Marine Corps helicopter pilots with flight data symbology 24 hours a day, utilizing new, light-weight flat panel displays superimposed over helmet mounted night vision goggles for the night, and the Day HUD for day display of relevant flight symbology.
About Elbit Systems of America, LLC
Elbit Systems of America is a leading provider of high performance products and system solutions focusing on the commercial aviation, defense, homeland security, and medical instrumentation markets. With facilities throughout the United States, Elbit Systems of America is dedicated to supporting those who contribute daily to the safety and security of the United States. Elbit Systems of America, LLC is wholly owned by Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESLT), a global electronics company engaged in a wide range of programs for innovative defense and commercial applications.
About Elbit Systems
Elbit Systems Ltd. is an international defense electronics company engaged in a wide range of defense-related programs throughout the world. The Company, which includes Elbit Systems and its subsidiaries, operates in the areas of aerospace, land and naval systems, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (“C4ISR”), unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”), advanced electro-optics, electro-optic space systems, EW suites, airborne warning systems, ELINT systems, data links and military communications systems and radios. The Company also focuses on the upgrading of existing military platforms and developing new technologies for defense, homeland security and commercial aviation applications.
For additional information, please visit us
at:http://www.elbitsystems.com.
Trademarks
Elbit Systems of America and other trademarks, service marks and logos are registered or unregistered marks of Elbit Systems of America companies in the United States and in foreign countries. Copyright (c) 2009 Elbit Systems of America. All rights reserved.
Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) regarding Elbit Systems Ltd. and/or its subsidiaries (collectively the Company), to the extent such statements do not relate to historical or current fact. Forward Looking Statements are based on management’s expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual future results, performance and trends may differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, without limitation: scope and length of customer contracts; governmental regulations and approvals; changes in governmental budgeting priorities; general market, political and economic conditions in the countries in which the Company operates or sells, including Israel and the United States among others; differences in anticipated and actual program performance, including the ability to perform under long-term fixed-price contracts; and the outcome of legal and/or regulatory proceedings. The factors listed above are not all-inclusive, and further information is contained in Elbit Systems Ltd.’s latest annual report on Form 20-F, which is on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.
Contact: Lynn Peugh, +1-817-234-6696, lynn.peugh@elbitsystems-us.com
SOURCE Elbit Systems of America
Two hundred years ago, archaeologists used the Rosetta Stone to understand the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Now, a team of Carnegie Mellon University scientists has discovered the beginnings of a neural Rosetta Stone. By combining brain imaging and machine learning techniques, neuroscientists Marcel Just and Vladimir Cherkassky and computer scientists Tom Mitchell and Sandesh Aryal determined how the brain arranges noun representations. Understanding how the brain codes nouns is important for treating psychiatric and neurological illnesses.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100113/NE36602 )
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“In effect, we discovered how the brain’s dictionary is organized,” said Just, the D.O. Hebb Professor of Psychology and director of the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging. “It isn’t alphabetical or ordered by the sizes of objects or their colors. It’s through the three basic features that the brain uses to define common nouns like apartment, hammer and carrot.”
As the researchers report today in the journal PLoS One, the three codes or factors concern basic human fundamentals: (1) how you physically interact with the object (how you hold it, kick it, twist it, etc.); (2) how it is related to eating (biting, sipping, tasting, swallowing); and (3) how it is related to shelter or enclosure. The three factors, each coded in three to five different locations in the brain, were found by a computer algorithm that searched for commonalities among brain areas in how participants responded to 60 different nouns describing physical objects. For example, the word apartment evoked high activation in the five areas that code shelter-related words.
In the case of hammer, the motor cortex was the brain area activated to code the physical interaction. “To the brain, a key part of the meaning of hammer is how you hold it, and it is the sensory-motor cortex that represents ‘hammer holding,’” said Cherkassky, who has a background in both computer science and neuroscience.
The research also showed that the noun meanings were coded similarly in all of the participants’ brains. “This result demonstrates that when two people think about the word ‘hammer’ or ‘house,’ their brain activation patterns are very similar. But beyond that, our results show that these three discovered brain codes capture key building blocks also shared across people,” said Mitchell, head of the Machine Learning Department in the School of Computer Science.
This study marked the first time that the thoughts stimulated by words alone were accurately identified using brain imaging, in contrast to earlier studies that used picture stimuli or pictures together with words. The programs were able to identify the thought without benefit of a picture representation in the visual area of the brain, focusing instead on the semantic or conceptual representation of the objects.
Additionally, and as shown in the image, the team was able to predict where the activation would be for a previously unseen noun. A computer program assigned a score to each word for each of the three dimensions, and that score predicted how much brain activation there would be in each of 12 specified brain locations. The theory generated a prediction of the activation for apartment based only on the patterns derived from the other 59 words. As one slice of the observed brain image from a human participant (left) and the theory (right) shows, the theory makes precise predictions, particularly about the two shelter-related coding areas in this slice (circled), where brighter red indicates more activation.
To test the theory, the team used the word scores to identify which word a participant was thinking about, just by analyzing the person’s brain activation patterns for that word. The program was able to tell which of the 60 words a participant was thinking about, with a rank accuracy as high as 84 percent for two of the participants, and an average rank accuracy of 72 percent across all 10 participants (where pure guessing would be accurate 50 percent of the time).
One absent code in the study that is essential for the human species concerns sex or love or reproduction. “Our vocabulary of 60 test nouns lacked any words related to the missing dimension, such as ’spouse’ or ‘boyfriend’ or even ‘person,’” Just said. “We certainly expect some human dimension to be part of the brain’s coding of nouns, in addition to the three dimensions we found.”
“With psychiatric and neurological illnesses, the meanings of certain concepts are sometimes distorted,” Just said. “These new techniques make it possible to measure those distortions and point toward a way to ‘undistort’ them. For example, a person with agoraphobia, the fear of open spaces, might have an exaggerated coding of the shelter dimension. A person with autism might have a weaker coding of social contact.”
Another implication is in developing and testing domain expertise at the neural level. “We teach to the mind but we are shaping the brain, and now we can give the brain a test of how well it has learned a concept,” says Just. “If an instructor knows how an advanced concept is represented in the brains of experts in that area, she will be able to teach to the brain test. We can do it for hammers and carrots right now. In the near future isotope and telomere may soon be on some brain researcher’s agenda.”
The research was funded by grants from the W.M. Keck Foundation and the National Science Foundation. To download the article, visit http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0008622. For more information about the group’s discoveries, visit www.ccbi.cmu.edu.
About Carnegie Mellon: Carnegie Mellon (www.cmu.edu) is a private, internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business, to public policy, the humanities and the fine arts. More than 11,000 students in the university’s seven schools and colleges benefit from a small student-to-faculty ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. A global university, Carnegie Mellon’s main campus in the United States is in Pittsburgh, Pa. It has campuses in California’s Silicon Valley and Qatar, and programs in Asia, Australia and Europe. The university is in the midst of a $1 billion fundraising campaign, titled “Inspire Innovation: The Campaign for Carnegie Mellon University,” which aims to build its endowment, support faculty, students and innovative research, and enhance the physical campus with equipment and facility improvements.
SOURCE Carnegie Mellon University
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MidSouth Bank, N.A. President and CEO C. R. “Rusty” Cloutier was invited back to Capitol Hill to testify on Wednesday, Jan. 13, before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC). This is the first hearing of the commission, which was created by the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009. Chaired by former Democratic California State Treasurer Philip Angelides and former California Republican Rep. Bill Thomas, the bi-partisan FCIC is charged with investigating the root causes of the current financial collapse and turning over its findings in a formal report to Congress and President Barack Obama by Dec. 15 of this year.
Wednesday’s meeting officially begins the 10-member commission’s thorough examination of the disaster. Members will hear testimony on the causes and current state of the crisis from top leaders of both private and public sector entities. Wednesday’s hearing starts at 9 a.m. and continues Thursday, Jan. 14.
Cloutier, a past chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America, joins a panel that includes Dr. Mark Zandi, chief economist and co-founder of Moody’s Economy.com; Dr. Kenneth T. Rosen, chair, Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, University of California, Berkeley; and Julia Gordon, senior policy counsel, Center for Responsible Lending.
Cloutier was asked to speak about the impact the crisis has had on business loans; the effect of government efforts to encourage lending; and the impetus behind declines in demand or supply. The commission is also asking for his insight on what the immediate future holds for business lending.
The hearing takes place at the Longworth House Office Building in Washington, D.C., Room 1100.
Cloutier testified last year before the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit on “TARP Oversight: Is TARP Working for Main Street?” and again before the House Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy on “Too Big To Fail?: The Role of Antitrust Law in Government-Funded Consolidation in the Banking Industry.”
Cloutier is the author of the new book Big Bad Banks: How greed and ego among the big shots in banking and government created the crisis that wrecked our economy. The book makes the case for how excessive financial concentration led to the country’s economic disaster.
About MidSouth Bancorp, Inc.
MidSouth Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Lafayette, La., with total assets of $948 million as of September 30, 2009. Through its wholly-owned bank subsidiary, MidSouth Bank, N.A., the Company offers complete banking services to commercial and retail customers in south Louisiana and southeast Texas. It has 35 locations in Louisiana and Texas and more than 50 ATMs.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained herein are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, among other matters, changing market conditions, economic conditions, credit quality, governmental regulation and legislation, interest rates, and other factors discussed in MidSouth’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 related to this offering and in its other filings with the SEC. MidSouth does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
SOURCE MidSouth Bancorp, Inc.
Global creative agency ATTIK (www.attik.com) is very proud to announce that some of its latest project work has been included in the recently released Brand Identity Now! book from world famous art book publisher TASCHEN Books and its design editor, Julius Wiedemann.
Featuring in-depth case studies of leading projects from around the world, Brand Identity Now! is a major reference work for designers as well as marketing and communications professionals. The book examines logos, imagery, and strategic applications involved in each branded project, featuring over 150 outstanding brand identities from more than 20 countries.
Included among a select number of top design companies worldwide, ATTIK is unique for its broad range of core capabilities, which often result in breakthrough campaigns where the firm’s focus on great design and sound branding practices is shrewdly integrated into hybrid, “media agnostic” sets of channels and approaches which connect with the desired audiences most effectively. ATTIK’s creative work across virtually all media channels for Scion, Lexus, Coca-Cola and other major brands is well known, while the company is also accustomed to making vital communications contributions from behind the scenes. In the latter case, recent examples include developing the brand identity and full marketing toolset for Plastic Logic’s QUE proReader which just launched at CES, the logo and visual identity for OnLive which launched to great fanfare at GDC 2009, the brand identity system for ICON Aircraft and its ICON A5 consumer sport plane which currently has over 400 pre-orders, and the new visual identity system for youth brand Boost Mobile. The Boost Mobile case study appears in Brand Identity Now!
“I have been following the work of ATTIK since the late 90s, when I was working in Japan,” said Wiedemann. “What really strikes me in their work is the conduction of both usability and elegance, a combination that is in most cases hard to achieve. The variety of work created in the studio shows the consistency they keep in every assignment. We are all overwhelmed with information (apart from ugly work too), and we need today to combine beauty and accessibility to cope with that, create a better world. ATTIK has mastered that.”
Brand Identity Now! is available through most major book retailers worldwide, and online at www.taschen.com.
Among other major design references published in 2009, NoiseFive – the latest edition in ATTIK’s original, world-renowned series of experimental design books – is available directly from ATTIK. ATTIK’s Noise publications are also chronicled within the pages of the prestigious Graphic Design, Referenced: A Visual Guide to the Language, Applications, and History of Graphic Design from authors Bryony Gomez Palacio and Armin Vit, and Rockport Publishers. Graphic Design, Referenced is also available through major book retailers around the world.
About ATTIK
ATTIK (www.attik.com) is a global creative agency committed to designing extraordinary creative experiences that inspire consumers through compelling communications. ATTIK’s strategic planning, design, advertising, production, client service and young-adult research expertise have driven success across an array of consumer product and service categories. ATTIK articulates corporate brand strategy, designs creative solutions for advertising, below-the-line and online media, ensuring target audiences are vitally connected to every facet of its clients’ brands. For inquiries, please call Ric Peralta (Ric@attik.com) at +1-415-284-2600.
[NOTE TO EDITORS: Please visit this link to view/download high-resolution artwork to accompany this story: http://www.darnellworks.com/attik/nr0078.htm]
Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link.
Ric Peralta
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SOURCE ATTIK
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At the 95th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), “Images, my way” will resonate throughout the Siemens Healthcare booth (#825) from November 29 to December 3 at McCormick Place (Booth #825, East Building/Lakeside Center, Hall D) in Chicago. This year’s booth displays and demonstrations will tell the story of Siemens support for its customers to generate, process, read, and share clinical images the way they want to.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070904/SIEMENSLOGO )
“Siemens is in a key position to demonstrate the benefits of offering unique integration of image acquisition modalities and image reading software in one-client-server solution,” said Hermann Requardt, CEO, Siemens Healthcare Sector. “With our latest innovations in clinical applications and our newest scanner technologies, Siemens will change the way radiologists are reading clinical images today.”
Through syngo®.via (1), advanced visualization (AV) and multimodality reading of clinical cases create an exciting experience in efficiency and ease of use – anywhere, making AV, 3D, and 4D reading part of daily routine tasks. Boasting speed, efficiency and connectivity of workflows, various degrees of automation, and being service-/customer-oriented, syngo.via is compatible with any existing IT environment, optimal performance (fast data link) in combination with Siemens modalities.
Visitors to the booth can tour the Siemens Experience Lounge for syngo.via for feature theater presentations to be held every 30 minutes, multi-touch panels, allowing visitors to experience the new technology in a self-guided manner, workstations throughout the booth, as well as on-site “classrooms” to provide first-hand learning.
Furthermore, Siemens redefines productivity by multiplying the power of its Tim® (Total imaging matrix) technology with its new Day optimizing throughput (Dot(TM))(2) engine. Both technologies are introduced in the new MAGNETOM® Aera(2) 1.5 Tesla (T) and the new MAGNETOM Skyra(2) 3T scanners.
At RSNA 2009, Siemens will showcase the following technologies:
Angiography, Fluoroscopy & X-ray
Siemens Healthcare will introduce its comprehensive portfolio for imaging in interventional oncology. Using these minimally invasive procedures for cancer therapy, the interventional radiologist navigates catheters or needles in the millimeter range. To this end, systems and applications are required that supply high image quality for the detection of details in soft tissue. Siemens provides high-end imaging systems and advanced applications for this purpose, which support the physician throughout the entire workflow, from tumor evaluation and procedure planning to therapy and follow-up.
Siemens will also feature the Artis zeego®, the revolutionary, multi-axis system with robotic-assisted positioning that enables variable working height, unique parking positions for hybrid rooms, and delivers large-volume syngo DynaCT image results to meet your current and future clinical needs. Also highlighted at the booth will be the Ysio®, a digital radiography solution with intuitive color touchscreen control that is as individual as your routine. Whether for general, trauma, dedicated chest or other specialized imaging applications, for hospitals or private practices, for budgets large or small, Ysio is available in a variety of combinations: as a wall stand with an integrated detector; a wall and table system with a wireless detector (wi-D); even as a mixed detector solution for high throughput and flexibility. Ysio’s ergonomic table design caters to the full spectrum of patient profiles from pediatrics to bariatrics, offering a 660-pound weight capacity and a low table height of 21 inches for convenient positioning when shifting sick or elderly patients from wheelchair to table.
Computed Tomography
Siemens has from the earliest days, developed many significant products and protocols that follow the ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) principle to reduce radiation dose to the lowest possible level. With the world’s first introduction of Iterative Reconstruction in Image Space (IRIS), Siemens now offers dose savings of up to 60 percent for a wide range of clinical applications. In an iterative reconstruction (IR), a correction loop is introduced into the image generation process. IRIS, Siemens’ smart approach to IR, overcomes the time-consuming processing of theoretical iterative reconstruction. In addition IRIS maintains a normal image impression solving the challenge of early statistical approaches.
Highlighting lowest dose and fastest speed, Siemens will also demonstrate the innovations of the SOMATOM® Definition Flash Dual Source computed tomography (CT) scanner. The SOMATOM Definition Flash requires only a fraction of the radiation dose that systems previously required to scan even the tiniest anatomical details. The fastest scanning speed in CT (i.e., up to 45 cm/s) and a temporal resolution of 75 ms enable complete scans of the entire chest region in just 0.6 seconds. Thus, clinicians now have a choice if they require their patients to hold their breath or not during the exam.
Furthermore, syngo.via provides a client-server solution for advanced visualization that makes AV, 3D, and 4D reading part of daily routine tasks, providing additional speed, accuracy and connectivity to all clinical decision makers.
Image & Knowledge Management
Get ready for advanced visualization to become common practice in the clinical routine when Siemens introduces syngo.via (1) at the RSNA 2009. With syngo.via, Siemens’ new imaging software for multimodality reading of clinical cases, the company is placing special focus on reading efficiency through automated case preparation and structured case navigation across multiple specialties, including cardiology, oncology, and neurology. syngo.via uniquely integrates imaging devices and IT, such as Siemens MRI, CT, and PET-CT scanners and its new Picture Archiving and Communications System, syngo®.plaza(3). Siemens is demonstrating the benefits of this integration, which creates a comprehensive solution based on client-server technology.
Siemens is also presenting syngo.plaza, a new agile PACS solution that will combine 2D, 3D, and 4D reading – enabling fast reading in any dimension – together in one place. syngo.plaza complements Siemens advanced imaging offering and integrates with its newest imaging software, syngo.via. The system features case-specific reading: based on clinical images, it automatically knows when to call up 2D, 3D, or 4D applications. The system remembers users’ preferences and sorts images accordingly. Furthermore, the reading tools and layouts can be adapted to users’ daily requirements. Due to its flexibility and minimal hardware requirements, users can re-use existing hardware components and easily add storage capacity.
Magnetic Resonance
Siemens Healthcare redefines productivity in MRI with the groundbreaking introduction of its new power couple: Tim® 4G(2), Total imaging matrix technology and Dot(TM)(2), Day optimizing throughput engine. Both technologies are now available in the new MAGNETOM® Aera(2) 1.5 Tesla (T) and the new MAGNETOM Skyra(2) 3T Magnetic Resonance (MR) systems. The combination of Tim 4G and Dot delivers patient-centered care and significantly improved productivity across the entire MRI workflow. Tim 4G, now available with up to 204 coil elements and up to 128 receive channels, takes flexibility, accuracy, and speed to the next level. Dot, the imaging world’s first MRI “throughput engine,” offers patient personalization, user guidance, and exam automation to help optimize every part of the practice. It takes two to redefine productivity: Tim and Dot.
Mammography
syngo® MammoReport, Siemens Healthcare’s reporting workstation for mammography, is not only fast and efficient for reading mammograms, but also allows to include 2D ultrasound and MR images into decision. From the end of 2009 on, syngo MammoReport is also adapting to new applications in breast imaging, by including the ABVS Workplace for the diagnosis of 3D ultrasound images. With this solution only one workstation is required for comprehensive breast diagnosis, enabling easy comparison of 3D ultrasound and mammography images. With this integration, syngo MammoReport is the only system that combines different breast reading tools and applications from one manufacturer.
Finding suspicious lesions or microcalcifications in breast images, often results in a biopsy. The MammoTest(TM) is Siemens fully digital prone table biopsy system with the largest breast aperture (11 inches) in the industry. It is ideally suited for visualizing the smallest microcalcifications and diagnosing masses and suspicious lesions, optimal contrast and spatial resolution for easy visualization of entire breast anatomy. Its unique polar coordinate system offers unobstructed view to needle/lesion with precise positioning (with +/- 1mm targeting accuracy), and “Target on Scout” capability (due to the exclusive angled-needle approach, a straight-on (0 degrees) Scout View can be used for targeting and confirming needle tip location).
With MammoTest, the patient always rests in a more comfortable prone position. The large aperture lets the breast and axilla fall away from the chest, offering unobstructed access to the region of interest. The special table design together with a rotating gantry, as well as the lateral arm offer true all-angles and fully 360 degrees patient and lesion access.
Molecular Imaging
Siemens Healthcare demonstrates the power of the Biograph(TM) mCT, the world’s first molecular CT at RSNA 2009. Biograph mCT enables facilities to serve both the nuclear medicine and the radiology department with one system. It achieves this duality through the integration of powerful PET and CT technologies, offering High-Definition PET, time-of-flight technology, and CT configurations up to 128 slices. Biograph mCT is ultra-efficient, offering institutions cutting-edge technology, optimum patient care solutions and potential for increased return on investment. Siemens Healthcare highlights this game-changing technology, where Biograph mCT is utilized both as a dedicated CT and PET-CT imaging system, as well as sophisticated diagnostic tool for oncology management.
Siemens will also highlight Symbia®.net(4), the new client-server solution for SPECT and SPECT-CT imaging applications for anytime, anywhere processing and reading. Symbia.net is part of Siemens Molecular Imaging’s ongoing commitment to innovation and access. In addition to the recent release of several new systems into the PET-CT and SPECT-CT markets, this new client-server solution will allow facilities that require reading from multiple locations to easily share and access patient imaging data. Symbia.net is designed for the specific needs of molecular imaging with a user-friendly interface and advanced automation features. It improves clinical workflow by providing hospital staff with easy, economical, access to all patient cases and applications.
Ultrasound
Siemens Healthcare Ultrasound will highlight a new release of its premium ACUSON S2000(TM) ultrasound platform featuring significant advancements in Acoustic Radiation Force Imaging (ARFI) and contrast imaging, as well as a complete new imaging line for OB/GYN. In addition, the company will be showcasing the revolutionary ACUSON S2000(TM) Automated Breast Volume Scanner (ABVS).
Siemens’ implementations of Acoustic Radiation Force Imaging (ARFI), Virtual Touch(TM) Tissue Imaging(5) and Virtual Touch Tissue Quantification(5), have been further optimized on the ACUSON S2000 ultrasound system. These leading-edge technologies add an independent parameter to the existing morphological diagnostic process by interrogating and measuring the mechanical strain properties or stiffness of tissue, which may be correlated with pathology. Virtual Touch Tissue Quantification is the first and only application to provide a numerical value related to tissue stiffness at a precise anatomical location which is highly promising in identifying early stages of liver diseases causing cirrhosis.
Furthermore, the system integrates advancements for Cadence(TM) contrast pulse sequencing technology(6), providing highly sensitive agent detection with outstanding enhancement uniformity at high frame rate contrast agent imaging at frequencies from 1.5 to 18 MHz.
Siemens will also be introducing their new Women’s Imaging line: the ACUSON S2000 ultrasound system – Women’s Imaging and the ACUSON X300(TM) ultrasound system, premium edition (PE) – Women’s Imaging. Both systems offer best-in-class imaging performance and a broad spectrum of applications designed to optimize workflow for the most demanding requirements in maternal-fetal medicine as well as routine clinical environments.
The automated volume breast ultrasound with the ACUSON S2000 ABVS system takes operator dependence and variability out of breast ultrasound, while at the same time streamlining workflow with an acquisition time of less than 10 minutes. Never-before-seen anatomical views of the breast, such as the coronal view, increase diagnostic confidence while semi-automated reporting and comprehensive BI-RADS® reporting capabilities further enhance the clinical workflow.
(1) syngo.via can be used as a standalone device or together with a variety of syngo.via-based software options, which are medical devices in their own rights.
(2) The information about this product is being provided for planning purposes. The product requires 510(k) review and is not commercially available in the U.S.
(3) The information about syngo.plaza is being provided for planning purposes. The product is pending 510(k) review, and is not yet commercially available.
(4) Symbia.net is pending 510(k) review and is not yet commercially available in the U.S.
(5) Not available in the United States.
(6) At the time of publication, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared ultrasound contrast agents only for use in LVO. Check the current regulation for the country in which you are using this system for contrast agent clearance.
The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world’s largest suppliers to the healthcare industry and a trendsetter in medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, medical information technology and hearing aids. Siemens is the only company to offer customers products and solutions for the entire range of patient care from a single source – from prevention and early detection to diagnosis, and on to treatment and aftercare. By optimizing clinical workflows for the most common diseases, Siemens also makes healthcare faster, better and more cost-effective. Siemens Healthcare employs some 49,000 employees worldwide and operates in over 130 countries. In fiscal year 2008 (to September 30), the Sector posted revenue of 11.2 billion euros and profit of 1.2 billion euros. For further information please visit: www.siemens.com/healthcare.
SOURCE Siemens Healthcare