Fujifilm Medical Systems U.S.A. Inc.'s lightweight flat panel cassette to convert analog or computed radiography X-ray rooms into digital radiography received U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance, the company announced Tuesday.

The six-pound device, called FDR D-EVO, is the same size as a standard cassette, about 14-by-17-inches, and slides right into an existing table or stand bucky.

"The natural fit for this product is anyone still using analog," Rob Fabrizio, director of marketing for digital X-ray at Fujifilm, told DOTmed News. "They can skip CR and go straight to DR. And anyone using CR can upgrade to an all DR-solution."

"It's a simple plug and play," he added.

During the launch of the product, to take advantage of a similarity in names, Fuji commissioned '80s band Devo to re-record their hit song "Whip It" with alternative lyrics advertising the product.

"We weren't thinking about the band," Fabrizio admits about the origin of the name. "The thought was, this was digital X-ray, evolved."

The device uses what Fuji calls ISS, or irradiation side sampling, technology. In this, the device captures the image data from the patient side of the detector, where the signal is the strongest and shortest, Fabrizio said. This results in a relatively high detector quantum efficiency, or the ability of the device to pick up clear images, Fabrizio said.

The FDR D-EVO is expected to begin shipping by the end of August, according to Stamford, Conn.-based Fujifilm.

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