Many hand-carried ultrasound systems offer better access to patients when space is compromised, but cannot provide all of the advanced radiology capabilities required to perform exams in today’s demanding ultrasound environment.

Designed to meet the needs of today’s hospitals by combining portability with high-end radiology features, Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. introduces the new Viamo™ laptop ultrasound system (works-in-progress), the industry’s no-compromise ultrasound system with advanced radiology capabilities, previously unavailable on hand-carried systems. Toshiba will showcase the Viamo at this year’s Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting, held in Chicago, Nov. 29 – Dec. 4.

The Viamo combines the portability of a laptop system with advanced radiology features to deliver outstanding image quality, enhance diagnostic confidence and improve ease of use. Developed from a radiology foundation, Toshiba’s Viamo provides the confidence to image patients at bedside, which generally requires larger, more expensive cart-based systems. When an immobile patient needs a high-end ultrasound exam, the portable Viamo laptop ultrasound is brought to the patient to improve the patient’s comfort without compromising exam quality. It is also ideal for a variety of patient exams, including traditional radiology, pediatric, emergency, OB/GYN, vascular and bariatric.

“The Viamo provides the best value in the hand-carried class by offering a feature-rich, portable system at a reasonable price point,” said Girish Hagan, vice president, Marketing, Toshiba. “With the ability to perform high-end radiology exams using a portable laptop system, Viamo rounds out Toshiba’s ultrasound product line, delivering function and value in the hand-carried segment, along with the exceptional image quality and clinical accuracy Toshiba is known for.”
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We have been talking about liquid batteries back in March, when an MIT announcement stated that they invented one that could store much more than regular batteries can in a simpler and fashionable way by using liquid metals and liquid electrolyte in the middle.

Since then, the same man who had invented the liquid battery, MIT professor Donald Sadoway, has been gathering “some major funding” from the newly founded ARPA-E, who encourages risky projects in the field of energy. The approach is a little different this time. If then, the battery was planned to be used in commercial applications, and to be more specific in mobile applications, such as car batteries, now Sadoway says he wants to play big and help the energy industry by designing batteries powerful enough to hold all the excess wind and solar power. These two sources of energy are complementary to each other, in the sense that wind is powerful at night and the Sun can only provide power during the day.

Back in March, there was everything about a battery that contained antimony, sodium sulfide and magnesium. Because of patenting secrecy, any further public details have not been given, so what we know now of the battery’s components, like then, is that there are two metals and a salt involved.

The working principle is simple: the energy is stored in the liquid metals that want to react with one another but can do so only by transferring ions — electrically charged atoms of one of the metals — across the electrolyte, which results in the flow of electric current out of the battery. When the battery is being charged, some ions migrate through the insulating salt layer to collect at one of the terminals. Then, when the power is being drained from the battery, those ions migrate back through the salt and collect at the opposite terminal.

Sadoway’s new liquid battery’s sizes are huge, he projected a battery bigger than anything existing today: “We’re talking about batteries of a size never seen before,” he says. And the system they develop has to include everything, including control systems and charger electronics on an unprecedented scale.

Likewise, his liquid battery is not destined to the consumers, so money won’t be spent on making it safe or easy to use, but large and to be handled by specially-trained people. Also, the new battery would only function at high temperatures, because, he says: “Solid components in batteries are speed bumps. When you want ultra-high current, you don’t want any solids.”

It’s about time someone thought about investing and inventing in the large currents sector, despite the obvious need to make small and efficient batteries for cars. If the infrastructure won’t be fully developed in the future, when we would expect everyone to charge their vehicle, then either electricity won’t be cheap anymore, or we would have blackouts every evening, because the current system isn’t ready for such a huge power consumption
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Toshiba Information Systems has selected CCI Distribution as one of its authorised storage distributors in the UK.

Harrogate-based CCI will stock a range of 1.8, 2.5 and 3.5 inch external Toshiba hard drives with USB connections, including two of Toshiba’s flagship external lines – StorE Art and StorE Steel.

“Toshiba is delighted to partner with a customer-focused specialist distributor such as CCI to further its growth aspirations in the external hard disk drive market.  We are confident of a long and mutually beneficial partnership supplying world class storage products to our mutual channel partners,” comments Mark Reynolds, distribution sales manager at Toshiba.

CCI will stock a total of 48 lines including the first 640GB 2.5 inch external hard drive on the market.

“Storage is a vital component of our ever-expanding digital lifestyle – it is a growing market and a key area for CCI’s business, particularly since the launch of our Professional Storage range,” says Nick Preston, sales director at CCI.  “Partnering with a world-class storage manufacturer like Toshiba will further enhance our strong product portfolio.”

In September CCI launched its B2B division offering storage. backup & archive, security & surveillance and storage application solutions.
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Sony, Microsoft and the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) have jointly announced plans for two separate video game design competitions in the US, meant to encourage student interest in technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Created in response to US President Obama’s new “Educate to Innovate” campaign, the Game Changers competition is designed as part of the USD 2 million annual Digital Media and Learning Competition funded by the MacArthur Foundation.

Game Changers is supported by Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) and will focus on creating original levels in 2008 title LittleBigPlanet, with the company donating 1,000 PlayStation 3 consoles to support the competition.

“We’re thrilled by the opportunity to participate and support the Game Changer Challenge announced today, said SCEA president and CEO Jack Tretton.”It casts a huge spotlight on the innovative medium that is video games and digital entertainment.”

The separate STEM National Video Game Competition is organised into three age groups (4 to 8 years old, 8 to 12 and 12 to 16) and encourages children to submit game ideas that can be turned into a browser-based game.

A USD 300,000 prize is offered for the winner of the STEM National Video Game Competition, with the winner being announced at E3 2010 in June. Further details on how to enter both competitions are due to be announced “in the coming weeks”.

“To create the next generation’s epic titles and incredibly immersive storylines, we need America’s youth to have strategic and analytic thinking skills along with complex problem solving abilities.”, said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA.

“It is my hope that it will produce games that will have a lasting impact on the STEM skills our nation’s students so desperately need,” he added.
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Taiwan-based Acer Inc, the world’s third-largest PC brand, will set up a research and development center on mainland China, in a bid to increase its market share, the Commercial Times reported on Friday, citing Acer Chairman Wang Jeng-tang as saying.

The mainland R&D center will focus on the development of desktop computers and smartphones, said Wang.

The company will develop smartphones based on China’s home-grown 3G standard, the TD-SCDMA technology, at the proposed R&D center, said the report.

Acer’s global PC shipments grew 25.6% year on year to 10.96 million units in the third quarter of this year, and ranked second after PC brand HP, which shipped 15.79 million PCs, according to statistics from research firm Interactive Data Corp, China Knowledge reported earlier.

Wang earlier said Acer would surpass Hewlett-Packard to become the largest player in the global laptop PC market in 2010, with netbook shipments reaching 40 million units.

Toshiba America Medical Systems announced it has introduced the Toshiba Assurance Refurbishment Program to provide customers the ability to purchase previously owned, completely refurbished Toshiba systems.
The first line of Toshiba products available through the program are Aquilion CT systems. To support this program, Toshiba said it has opened a new Quality Assurance Center in Irvine, Calif.

“Toshiba is dedicated to providing customers with the most value for their budget,” said Ted Nemetz, VP, Service Business Unit, Toshiba. “The Aquilion Assurance Program does just that - allows customers to acquire the service and performance Toshiba is known for, at a price that meets their facility’s needs.”

A refurbished CT system from Toshiba is held to the same quality and performance standards as a brand-new Toshiba CT system. Previously owned Toshiba CT systems are inspected at the Quality Assurance Center, where a team of experts evaluate and test all moving parts and programs. After the system has been inspected, new parts are installed and upgraded, including crucial items like the X-ray tube, and new software is installed. The system is then repainted, relabeled and placed in new packaging. Before a system leaves the Quality Assurance Center, it is tested against Toshiba’s original factory standards.

According to Toshiba, the Aquilion Assurance Program is for health care facilities looking to acquire diagnostic imaging equipment, but may not have the capital to purchase a brand-new system. Existing customers can trade in an Aquilion 8-, 16-, 32- or 64-detector row system for credit towards a refurbished CT system. Customers also have the option to acquire a new Service contract with the purchase of a refurbished CT system.