The Radiological Society of North America's annual meeting at McCormick Place in Chicago is one of the biggest medical shows in the world. For those who couldn't attend - or who did attend but couldn't see it all - DOTmed presents, hall by hall, some of the most exciting gadgets, devices and applications. Welcome to Lakeside Center, Hall D.

Siemens Healthcare: Refurb revamp, true 3-D imaging, budget-minded PET/CT and fully-integrated PET/MR
Even though Hall D is a significant hike from the convention center's main entrance and the conference registration area, major attractions like Siemens' booth ensured the hall was a must-visit for attendees of RSNA 2010.


Of note, the company's shaking up its refurbishing branch with the introduction of its scalable refurbishment program. This lets customers choose various levels of upgrades for used products, to meet different budgets.

"The basic option offers equipment that has been tested and is certified to be in working condition," says Sabine Duffy-Sandstrom, vice president of business management for refurbished systems. "The basic plus IT provides a working system with IT updates, while the basic plus aesthetics delivers a machine that has that 'straight-off the assembly line' shine."

Sandstrom says with the exception of angio-cath, which would continue to need full refurbishment, scalable refurbishment will be available for all modalities Siemens services by sometime in 2011. The company also recently expanded its program to embrace oncology refurbishing.

Refurbishing services weren't the only attractions at the booth for cost-conscious attendees. Siemens also showed off their Biograph mCT 20 Excel system. The 20-slice PET/CT system offers smaller hospitals and community medical centers an entry-level solution into the CT world, but is upgradeable, enabling the system to grow with the facility.
It boasts a 78-centimeter bore and a 500-pound weight-capacity and can (like all Siemens PET/CT machines) be outfitted with the Guardian proactive monitoring software, which provides real-time equipment monitoring to Siemens technical specialists.

The next product may be more familiar to moviegoers than doctors, but judging from attendee response, that may change. Siemens had many curious visitors trying on black-framed, black lens, battery-powered 3-D glasses providing the wearers with an in-depth look at its stereoscopic ultrasound technology.

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