Vital Images Inc, a medical imaging software company, announced Vitrea 2, version 3.5, the company's latest version of its flagship software for 2D, 3D and 4D visualization and analysis.

"Vital Images' new Vitrea release adds several applications and features that enhance our high-performance technology and broaden use of visualization tools throughout the healthcare enterprise," said Jay D Miller, Vital Images president and chief executive officer.

"One new feature, Softread, allows the user access to basic 2D viewing capabilities, while complementing 3D and 4D advanced visualization tools. Improvements to our hands-off fly-through virtual colonoscopy feature make viewing polyps much easier, as the image quality and ease of use are greatly improved. We're pleased to offer the Fusion7D option, which registers CT, MR, SPECT and PET images," he added.

Vitrea 2, Version 3.5 features the Fusion7D option, a result of Vital Images' collaboration with Mirada Solutions (a subsidiary of CTI Molecular Imaging), announced in 2003, to integrate fusion software capabilities into Vitrea. Fusion7D lets users combine medical images created in different scanning modalities to form a single image with richer diagnostic information.

Mirada's technology can fuse images from the same or different imaging modalities, such as magnetic resonance (MR), positron emission tomography (PET) or computed tomography (CT); from datasets acquired at different times; or from datasets generated on equipment from different manufacturers. Fusion software is particularly helpful in situations where early intervention can prevent disease.

Fusion7D can be used for either rigid or deformable data fusion. In rigid fusion, images are rotated and translated in 3D in the matching process, but not stretched or deformed in any way. In deformable or non-rigid fusion, images are processed to take into account complex motions, including breathing, along with any changes in the shape of the body or organs, which may occur after surgery.

Software-based fusion technology, such as Fusion7D, enhances the information available from medical images. This includes creating fused images from datasets that were produced on separate scanners; assessing the movement of a patient examined using a combined scanner, such as a PET/CT; and comparing images taken at different times, such as before and after treatment.

PET is a scanning technology that detects cancers and other diseases at the molecular level, often before changes are visible by anatomical imaging or, in many cases, before symptoms appear. PET/CT is a relatively new technology that combines the biological examination of an anatomical site by PET with the CT images of the body's structural details.

Vitrea 2 is Vital Images' advanced medical imaging software for diagnostic evaluation of CT and MR image data. Vital Images is a provider of 3D imaging software for use in disease screening applications, clinical diagnosis and therapy planning.