Little gems dot RSNA exhibit floor

It's easy to get lost in the RSNA shuffle, espeically if you're competing with multimillion-dollar MR and CT systems. Hundreds of exhibitors each year introduce noteworthy products that go virtually unnoticed. Some can even fit in the palm of your hand.

Sanarus Medical (North Building, Hall B, 8170) plans to introduce the Cassi Automated Rotational Core Biopsy Device, a cordless handheld biopsy product. The fully automated, single-use, fully disposable system does not use a vacuum tube. Rather, it uses a cryogenic "stick-freeze" technology that stabilizes the lesion around the needle and a coring mechanism that extracts the sample (http://www.sanarus.com/medpro/cassi.html).

MedImage (South Building, Hall A, 2507) plans to showcase a volume registration tool as an option on its MedView, software that provides specialized 3D display tools for nuclear medicine and PET (http://www.medimage.com/docs/medview.pdf). The tool allows the registration of images from multiple modalities. Its rigid-body manual registration, based on the alignment of landmarks in operator-selected slices, supports the display of original and fused images for comparison.

The construction and engineering company Kajima (South Building, Hall A, 5551) plans to introduce a new magnetic shielding technology. This transparent shielding product is designed to give the scanning environment a more open and friendly feel.

AADCO Medical (South Building, Hall A, 3305) plans to introduce a line of nonferrous ceiling suspension systems for use in MR rooms. These RayShield products are designed to hold such MR suite necessities as surgical lamps, LCDs, contrast media injectors, and even x-ray barriers.

Kyoto Kagaku claims to have developed the world's first ultrasound anatomic phantom. The life-size model of the human abdomen, dubbed the Abdominal Ultrasound Examination Training Set EOU, features materials that replicate the different acoustic features of each abdominal organ. Exhibit visitors will be able to try it onsite (North Building, Hall B, 6406).

Biodex Medical Systems (North Building, Hall B, 6452) plans to introduce a table that accommodates both ultrasound and echocardiography. The 30-inch-wide table can support a 500-pound patient.

Amirsys (South Building, Hall A, 1876) plans to introduce the STATdx, a point-of-care clinical decision support system for radiologists. STATdx increases speed, accuracy, and diagnostic confidence in complex cases. The product, which began shipping in July, interactively narrows the choices for diagnosis, then provides a gallery of images with accompanying diagnoses (http://www.amirsys.com/statfindout.htm). The company previously introduced the PocketRadiologist and Diagnostic Imaging text series.