Philips came to the 2009 RSNA Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting with a slew of developments in digital X-ray, dose reduction (see DM: 10925), 3rd generation time-of-flight PET and patient-friendly imaging rooms.

Watch this DOTmed News video featuring Philips global executives as they lead you through a virtual tour of their sprawling North Hall booth:

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

General X-ray

For hospitals that want to save the money and space needed for separate fluoroscopy and general radiography rooms, Philips offers the EasyDiagnost Eleva DRF room solution. In the video, Stefan Mintert, field marketer for general X-ray at Philips, demonstrates the EasyDiagnost room, a two-in-one suite featuring a built-in detector in table and wall-stand. According to Mintert, radiologists can use the room for fluoroscopy in the morning, and in the afternoon can run their DR exams.

Next, Mintert demonstrates another budget-friendly product, the Essenta DR Compact, making its debut at this year's show. The newest member of the value-priced Essenta family, it's aimed primarily at small hospitals and clinics, as well as emerging markets, according to Mintert. Like other Philips X-ray products with the Eleva interface, it runs Philips' UNIQUE image processing software, as well as the brand's security protocols.

At the opposite, high end of DR, Mintert reveals what he calls Philips' "flagship" product: the DigitalDiagnost. This system features a cable-free, wireless detector allowing easy transfer of images, and can quickly process free trauma, orthopedic and bed views, according to Philips.

Augmented Reality

Dominic Smith, vice president of marketing for CT and nuclear medicine, showed the 3rd generation time-of-flight PET/CT scanner, the Gemini TF. Processing images at under 500 picoseconds, it's their fastest scanner yet, according to Philips.

"How fast is that?" asks Smith, in an earlier interview with DOTmed News. "That's like capturing an individual photon going around the earth seven times in a single second, and capturing it within 6.75 centimeters....What that allows you to do is get a much more accurate PET image," he adds.