Meeting-goers at RSNA 2004 interested in learning more about computer applications in radiology should be sure to take a detour and visit infoRAD located in Hall D-2 of McCormick Place's Lakeside Center.

Link to infoRAD
http://www.rsna.org/publications/rsnanews/oct04/tech_exh-1.html

infoRAD Exhibit Hours
Sunday - Thursday: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Friday: 8:00 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.

The Quality Connection
InfoRAD this year is featuring this standalone, showcase exhibit in which hospitals that have implemented various aspects of Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise initiative (IHE) are sharing their success stories. The five healthcare organizations involved are: Brigham and Women's Hospital; University of Wisconsin Hospital; Northwestern Memorial Hospital; The Cleveland Clinic; and University of Maryland Medical Center.

The five hospitals are linked by standards for information exchange defined by IHE and will demonstrate how IHE can help disparate systems and different institutions work together through the use of common standards. Additionally, the five institutions will offer hands-on stations highlighting the benefits of integrated technology in improving patient safety, quality of care, productivity, workplace efficiency, and communication of information within radiology and among departments.

infoRAD's Four Classrooms
InfoRAD has organized its tutorials into four categories: the Tutorial Classroom, PACS Workstation Classroom, Web-based classroom and the Informatics Classroom.

• 9200 Tutorial Classroom: Developed by the National Library of Medicine and Internet2 (I2), these tutorials focus on the Next Generation Internet (NGI) and the future of medical practice and education as well as current and future applications of I2 in medicine.
  
  
• 9600 PACS Workstation Classroom: Hands-on sessions using current PACS workstation technology. The workstations are provided by vendors and faculty is provided by the sponsoring site (UC-Davis).
  
  
• 9700 Web-based Classroom: Hands-on sessions on using web-based technologies.
  
  
• 9800 Informatics Classroom: Debuting this year, these didactic sessions focus on various informatics topics, including IHE and MIRC (Medical Imaging Resource Center). For a full listing of classes, see the chart on page 30.

Hands-on Computer Workshops
These practical workshops are geared for RSNA attendees interested in learning more about the use of computers in radiology. Vendors have reserved classroom space near the infoRAD/IHE exhibit area in the Lakeside Center to conduct classes on their respective proprietary computer systems. Companies participating in this year's Computer Workshops include: Agfa Healthcare, Fujifilm Medical Systems, GE Healthcare, Philips Medical Systems and Siemens Medical Solutions. For a listing of classes, visit http://rsna2004.rsna.org/rsna2004/V2004/index.cvn?id=10035&p_navID=377.

Hands-On Computer Workshop Hours
Sunday - Thursday: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Friday: 8:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.

Mobile Computing Pavilion
For the second year in a row, RSNA is hosting this pavilion developed by its Electronic Communication Committee (ECC). The pavilion features a theater area dedicated to educational presentations on mobile computing, daily panel sessions led by industry experts and leaders in the field, and exhibits of leading wireless technologies.

Presentation topics include: tablet PCs and wireless networks, wireless security, mobile electronic data entry systems, maximizing wireless investments, next-generation wireless technology and securing patient health records with wireless access. The pavilion will be located on the Technical Exhibits Floor in Hall A, Booth #1337.

Inside IHE
Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise is a joint project between RSNA and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). In addition to the Quality Connection and the new Informatics Classroom, RSNA's IHE has developed the Portable Data for Imaging (PDI) demonstration.

Attendees will be able to collect sample CDs - at the entrance of McCormick North and South halls as well as in the InfoRAD area - that contain data created by RSNA or other media creators (those who can create the sample CDs in their exhibit booth). The CDs can be taken to any of the two dozen participating vendors (see chart below) with the capability to import IHE-conformant media, to read the data. It demonstrates the flexibility of data conforming to unified standards.

Participating Companies in the Portable Data for Imaging demonstration:
AGFA Healthcare
Cerner Corp.
DR Systems, Inc.
Data Distributing
DeJarnette Research Systems, Inc.
Eastman Kodak Co.
ETIAM
Ferrania Imaging Technologies
GE Healthcare
Hologic Inc.
INFINITT Co., Ltd.
McKesson Medical Imaging
Merge eFilm
PacsCube
RADinfo Systems
RASNA Medical Systems
Siemens Medical Solutions
SoftMedical
Sorna Corp.
TDK Electronics Corp., Med. Div.
Tiani Medgraph AG
Toshiba America Medical Systems
Vidar Systems Corporation
Vital Images Inc.

IHE also is providing a full slate of courses that Carr calls the "meat and potatoes" of the IHE portion of the conference. Held in the infoRAD classroom in Hall D-2 of the Lakeside Center, both introductory and refresher classes will be offered, including: Using IHE to Acquire Integrated Systems, The IHE Initiative Worldwide, What's New in IHE, IHE for Product Planners, IHE
for Administrators, IHE User Success Stories, Realizing the Image-Enabled EHR, and DICOM, What's New.