How RTI products are meeting the current and future needs of the X-ray community
23rd January 2017
RTI’s commitment to improving X-ray QA for mammography is the driving force behind all its product development. Here Elisabeth Nilsson, Vice President of Development at RTI explains their philosophy and the steps they have taken to make RTI products the instruments of choice for today's mammography department.
”RTI takes great pride in being able to offer our users QA tools for modern mammography,” says Elizabeth. ”A lot of improvements have taken place in mammography during the past few years. New anode/filter material combinations, tomosynthesis, and higher kVs. It is important for RTI to be a part of securing safe diagnostic procedures, especially in mammography, where we screen so many healthy young women. It is a challenge to keep up with all the latest developments! We work in close collaboration with the mammography vendors, and it has been exciting to work with our detector, the Black Piranha and the Ocean Software. It is a very dynamic system. We also know that it must be easy to make measurements. When adapting to the latest mammography systems, we made the Black Piranha even easier to position. We also launched Ocean Quick Check for those standard required measurements. Our tools, with the Bluetooth communication, make a precise and efficient plug-and-play system.”
How can a detector be described as dynamic? Elizabeth explains: ”Well, modern mammography is expanding the kV-range up against 49 kV and we are using heavy Cu filtration. At the same time our users need to be able to measure on the older mammo units that are still in use. The Black Piranha meets these challenges well. There is no need to introduce new sensors or switch sensor when measuring on high kV’s. Everything is being dealt with automatically. Just keep measuring with your Black Piranha without any fuss!”
What makes the Piranha so well suited for Mammography? ”The combination of the Black Piranha detector and the Ocean software makes a very powerful tool,” says Elizabeth. ”As mentioned earlier, the wide kV capacity is important to meet the recent challenges. Also, the so called ”Combo Modes,” where you use a sequence of Tomosynthesis and a stationary exposure, can automatically be followed with our system. Ocean will adapt and follow the sequence as well as calculate the total exposure automatically. Ocean provides great opportunities for the user to customise the measurement procedures, as well as their reports. Of course there are predefined quick templates too. it is up to you!”
So RTI supports all standards for AGD measurements? ”We already support most standards,” says Elizabeth. ”We are following the recommendations for the newest anode/filter material combinations and we update our software as new information is needed and made available.”
How is RTI able to provide calibrations for the latest Mammo machines, even before they appear on the market? ”Our close collaboration with the major mammography vendors ensures that you will find support for your new mammography unit,” says Elisabeth. ”It is our ambition to be ready when new units enter the market.”