Catering to the Digital Age

Advanced printer performance comes in a compact package

When it comes to medical printers today, good things come in small packages. Printing devices are rapidly shrinking in size and weight, and becoming more portable, versatile, and flexible than ever – with lower purchase prices and operating and maintenance costs as an added bonus. At the same time, performance is reaching new heights with increasingly lifelike, high-resolution output and ease of operation. Other trends include new convenience features like self-calibrating and self-cleaning technologies, as well as easy paper loading and consumable management.

While more modalities are going digital, enabling soft-copy reading, the need for hard-copy output remains strong. As a result, imaging sites are looking for high-performance solutions that do not tax budgets, space, and time.

Rapidly advancing imaging modalities are also driving printer design. Manufacturers are creating devices that support new developments across the imaging spectrum, from ultrasound and mammography to specialties like PET/CT. In many cases, evolving technologies also benefit from these scaled-down printers that deliver high-quality output. And there is no shortage of good printing choices on the market.

Ultrasound Applications

Ultrasound is an example of a modality that is on the move – literally and figuratively – with printers designed to make the most of evolving technologies. For years, ultrasound devices weighed several hundred pounds, were burdened with large, bulky consoles, and were wheeled, slowly and carefully, throughout medical facilities – often with bulky printers in tow.

Gradually these cart-mounted systems have become more compact, and today some are as small as a laptop computer, and weigh less than 10 pounds. To take advantage of the modality’s smaller footprint, enhanced cart mobility, and maneuverability, manufacturers have created small, convenient thermal ultrasound printers. There is also a need for similar color printers as vascular, ob/gyn, and cardiac ultrasound applications become more portable.

Sony’s compact, color UP-D25MD is a high-quality, high-speed dye sublimation printer that measures 8-3/8 inches wide by 15-5/8 inches deep by 3-7/8 inches high and weighs approximately 12 pounds. Outputting 423-dpi high-resolution prints, the digital printer is optimized for the modality and frees up space for other equipment on a medical cart. It delivers quality durable images in less than 20 seconds.

The UP-D25MD has easy access to controls with a front bezel design that includes user-friendly, menu-driven, color adjustment. The device also provides flashing LED notification of data
transmission and print cartridge status. These features can boost workflow in today’s productivity-driven medical environments.

Companies have also developed laminated media with high resistance to water and fingerprints, resulting in archival copies for patient medical records. This new media aids long-term maintenance of high-quality medical records.

Another choice for ultrasound is the Sony UP-DR80MD, which measures 12.5 inches wide by 16.75 inches deep and 8.13 inches high, weighs 25 pounds, and delivers photo-realistic image quality and color reproduction. The smallest full-page, medical-grade, dye-sublimation printer on the market, the
compact device integrates into a medical cart or can be used as a centralized USB printer. It prints full-page, photo-quality color images in approximately 72 seconds and is versatile enough to support a range of modalities.

A color adjustment feature enables close matching of print color to images displayed on the screen. The printer includes 310-dpi resolution, fast print speed, and front-panel access to replace letter-size print media and ribbon. In addition, it can combine multiple ultrasound images on a single page for referring physicians.

When color is not required, a monochrome thermal printer is a better choice. Measuring 6-1/2 inches by 3-1/2 inches by 9-1/2 inches and weighing less than six pounds, Sony’s UP-D897 printer fits the bill. It delivers sharp, realistic 325-dpi black-and-white A6 images in two seconds on gloss, high-density and standard thermal media. The printer also boasts advanced features and user-friendly front-panel controls.

As ultrasound devices become increasingly smaller, a new wave of hand-carried technology is cresting. Small wireless printers will make the most of these new devices – so these models will stay ahead of the curve. All these Sony printers have USB2.0 interfaces that can be connected to a PC or fitted with an add-on wireless adaptor to support hand-held systems. This interface also ensures faster data setup and transfer when connected directly to the modality.

Flexibility for Mammography

Mammography facilities continue to rely on hard copy. Mammography images are often viewed by several specialists, particularly breast surgeons and oncologists. Because of potential incompatibilities and difficulties transmitting large mammography digital files, hard copy is generally the choice for sharing mammograms.

But mammography printers – once the space- and budget-hungry bane of an imaging facility’s existence – are also getting smaller and more convenient. Sony’s FilmStation Mammography Dry Film Imager, model UP-DF750, provides diagnostic-quality mammography output in a compact device that can be sited vertically and horizontally for flexibility.

With a high-resolution thermal printing system and blue thermal high-density film, the FilmStation delivers 604-dpi images optimized for full-field digital mammography (FFDM). The device received FDA clearance in 2009.

In addition, specialized imaging, such as mammography, is increasingly taking to the road to help sites boost exam volume and revenues. A flexible, compact mammography printer is a good fit for a mobile van.

Multimodality mammography sites should select a printer that can handle mammography and other image types. With a dual tray print media system, Sony’s mammography device can double as a general diagnostic radiology printer that accommodates several film sizes and modalities, such as X-ray, CT, MRI, DR, and CR.

Feature-Rich Multimodality Printers

Versatile diagnostic quality DICOM printers are usually suitable for a range of modalities, including PET, nuclear medicine, CT, and MRI, as well as CR and DR. They provide clear, accurate, high-resolution images with a slightly lower resolution than a mammography printer.

These devices also are feature-rich, compact, and network-ready. Sony’s versatile flagship FilmStation, model UP-DF500, is a good example. The device delivers 320-dpi prints at a speed of up to 70 14-inch by 17-inch films per hour. At 25 inches by 10 inches by 27 inches, the Sony FilmStation Imager dramatically reduces imaging facility space requirements. Moreover, its unique configuration also allows vertical and horizontal positioning.

FilmStation’s automatic calibration ensures consistent image quality, while access to manual settings allows fine-tuning. Overall, the unit is user-friendly, with a minor learning curve, and film loading is simple. To meet an even wider range of needs, the dual tray FilmStation also supports 8-inch by 10-inch, 10-inch by 12-inch, and 11-inch by 14-inch films. With this imager, users have two film sizes continuously available.

Reference Printing

For medical records, referring physicians, patient consultations, and other non-diagnostic uses, a lower resolution printer maximizes a budget. Users need not sacrifice printing speed and efficiency.
A case in point is Sony’s UP-D74XRD DICOM, a high-speed 8-inch by 10-inch monochrome digital imager for ultrasound, mobile c-arm, and CR/DR reference printing. With its high-resolution output on film and paper through direct thermal printing, the imager provides a flexible, hard-copy option. It uses a silent-print mechanism and can generate up to 90 prints per hour, while automatically recognizing the media type in use and adjusting the gamma curve appropriately to reproduce a precise grayscale. The lightweight design allows for tabletop operation or easy integration into a cart.

Another reference choice is the Sony UP-D77MD model color dye-sublimation DICOM imager, with crisp 300-dpi letter size output. The 8-inch by 10-inch color printer produces high-quality, smudge-free images, and color management. It is optimized to support accurate color reproduction and screen-to-print color matching without altering grayscale values.

In addition to its use in ultrasound, the UP-DR80MD is an all-around reference printer with a low purchase price and cost of ownership that make it an alternative to ink jet printers and their costly consumables.

– Julie Holodak is senior marketing manager for Sony Medical in Park Ridge, N.J. Direct questions and comments to editorial@rt-image.com.