Author: Giulia Grassi

Fujifilm’s success at the European Congress of Radiology 2023

In early March we attended the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) 2023, and it was a pleasure to see you all in Vienna, sharing the latest innovations and news from the world of imaging. The exhibition was a great success, and it was great to see delegates returning in good numbers to this renowned radiology event.

We welcomed a high number of delegates onto the Fujifilm’s booth, where we showcased several new additions to our imaging and healthcare IT portfolio, launching products that spanned an increasing range of clinical areas and technologies. Throughout the event, on-site application specialists and product managers offered interactive demonstrations of our comprehensive portfolio such as the newly released advanced ultrasound system – the ARIETTA™ 750 DeepInsight™ .

The event was also the perfect opportunity for Fujifilm to highlight and demonstrate features of products that will be arriving soon. For example, the visitors to the booth could learn how the next-generation ECHELON™ Synergy MRI scanner uses AI technology to rapidly obtain high quality images. Also, they could learn about the SCENARIA™ View Focus Edition CT scanner, which is equipped with the workflow accelerating SynergyDrive™ automation suite. Additionally, it is equipped with an advanced cardiac motion correction feature that helps clinicians obtain clearer images of the heart, even with the most challenging rhythms.

Our general x-ray digital modalities area also got their share of attention, with live demonstrations of the FDR Cross hybrid c-arm, a solution for Fluoroscopy and Radiography in a single platform. The FDR D-EVO III G80i digital X-ray Longview detector that improves efficiency and effectiveness in orthopaedic and spinal procedures, thanks to its ultra-lightweight, long image area and wireless capabilities. A comprehensive range of modality AI support tools were also on display, showing how AI at the point of x-ray can improve decision-making and allow improved triage of patients, allowing more effective and efficient use of resources.

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Over in the booth’s Ultrasound Corner, attendees of our ‘Meet the experts’ events enjoyed first-class talks hosted by field specialists, covering topics such as the clinical usefulness of new ultrasound technologies in radiology. Here the benefits of the DeepInsight™ range were revealed, as well as ultrasound imaging techniques for the assessment of diffuse liver disease. The Women’s Health Corner was equally full of activity, with regular discussions on recent advances in mammography screening and Fujifilm’s new Comfort Comp feature – an innovation that provides a more comfortable breast imaging experience – for the Amulet™ Innovality™ mammography system.

The Fujifilm satellite MR symposium also proved a hit, with the audience  treated to leading experts exploring the latest opportunities provided by cutting-edge MRI technologies. Prof. Dr. med. Jürgen Biederer – a thought leader in this area – chaired thrilling discussions on topics such as the widespread benefits of open scanners, and the safe management of patients with passive implants on vertical field scanners.

ECR 2023 saw a special visit from Teiichi Goto, President and Chief Executive Officer at FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, to the Fujifilm booth. Goto-san saw the hard work and dedication that went into every aspect of our presence at ECR 2023, and even enjoyed touring the booth to receive an overview of the portfolio and key products on display.

Bring on ECR 2024, where we will be exhibiting the diagnostic imaging solutions we are continually developing and adapting to address ever-evolving issues in the healthcare sector. With a commitment to taking on healthcare challenges together, we are already looking forward to bringing our future innovations back to Vienna next year.

Planting Trees – Planting Future

Did you know that most aspects of our lives, such as drinking a glass of water or taking medicine for a fever, are linked to some extent to forests? Today, March 21, 2023, we celebrate the International Day of Forests. Back in 2012 the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Forests, celebrating and raising awareness of the importance of all types of forests.

In the COP27, the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, the heads of countries around the globe cam together to agree on policies to limit global temperature rises and adapt to impacts associated with climate change. We at Fujifilm joined PLANT MY TREE, Germany’s largest tree planting tour that started on 02.11.2022, to do our part against climate change. 

PLANT MY TREE travelled across Germany to plant 100,000 trees in 10 selected cities, including ours. Looking ahead, thinking in the long term and act thoughtfully on the ground in the interests of nature and climate protection is the claim of PLANT MY TREE foundation. And also for us, sustainability is of fundamental importance, and we want to make the greatest possible contribution to preserving nature as a healthy, valuable habitat. Together with the PLANT MY TREE team, we donated and planted 1,000 trees in the Dusseldorf area, around 8 km from our headquarters. As a Christmas gift, each Fujifilm employee based in Germany was gifted their own tree.

Geo-coordinates such as 51°20’45.9”N 6°47’48.5”E have been provided to each employee making it easy to locate the planting area where our trees were planted. Now each of our employees can visit the Fujifilm forest and their own tree whenever they want and accompany them on their way to becoming a mature forest. To ensure that the tree population can grow again in a controlled manner, PLANT MY TREE carries out their plantings specifically on their own areas. Thus, they ensure that the trees in these areas remain standing and cannot be used for industrial recycling and protect the area from unwelcome visitors. 

Obviously, we know that this is not enough to protect the climate, nature and the environment. However, it is another step forward in Fujifilm’s commitment to the environment. This commitment was already outlined in the SVP2030(1) plan which, amongst other things, aims to reduce CO2 emissions in Fujifilm’s company operations and develop as well as promote environmentally conscious products and services. 

Uniting our voices for World Cancer Day

“As individuals, as communities, we can and must come together and break down barriers. Closing the care gap is about fairness, dignity and fundamental rights to allow everyone to lead longer lives in better health.”

Dr Cary Adams, CEO of the Union for International Cancer Control

Today – 4th February – is the World Cancer Day, an initiative for building and advocacy initiatives that unite the cancer community to reduce the global cancer burden, promote greater equity, and integrate cancer control into the world health and development agenda.

This year’s theme is ‘closing the care gap’, and focuses on the lack of accessibility to health services faced by many people around the world.

Half the world’s population lacks access to the full range of essential health services. When it comes to cancer, many people are denied basic care, despite the fact that we live in a time of awe-inspiring advancements in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

As a proud partner of World Cancer Day, we are committed to advancing the fight against cancer.

Working with healthcare providers, our mission is to address unmet medical needs, helping to provide access to earlier cancer detection and diagnosis.

Whether it’s providing solutions to help strengthen cancer care delivered in the community, or pioneering new partnerships to provide better access to remote screening and diagnostic services, we know that the earlier cancer is detected – the better the changes of survival.

Find out more

We are extremely proud to be a partner of World Cancer Day, and to show our dedication to advancing the fight against cancer.“

Toshihisa Iida, President and Managing Director at FUJIFILM Europe GmbH

Do you recognize this image?

We are sure that almost everyone is familiar with this. Exactly! This image depicts the famous default wallpaper hill of Microsoft’s Windows XP™ operating system.

A ‘digital window’ overlooking a green hill and blue sky in the Los Carneros American Viticultural Area of the California Wine Country. This photo, named Bliss, consistently makes a Windows XP™ PC recognisable.

However, if you think Microsoft© created it in one of its design studios, you are wrong. The Bliss is a completely original photo with slight editing.

Charles O’Rear, former National Geographic photographer, took the photo in January 1996 and Microsoft© bought the rights to it in 2000. O’Rear used a 1980 Mamiya RZ67 SLR camera and Fujifilm Velvia film to take the image, a film often used among nature photographers and known to saturate some colours.

Since it was the beginning of the millennium and technology was not as advanced as it is today and it was not possible to send the photos digitally Microsoft© decided to obtain the actual negative film for the best results. Microsoft© decided to have O’Rear fly in to have the film delivered personally: it was the cheapest and fastest way to get his hands on the film that would become one of the world’s most iconic photos.

The photo is mostly as it was taken in reality. Although there was later speculation that the image had been created with software such as Adobe Photoshop, O’Rear claims that it never was.

Microsoft© retouched the photo by slightly darkening the green spot on the hill, but other than that, O’Rear’s camera did the rest. The saturated colours are the result of Fujifilm Velvia film, which is known to saturate colours somewhat.

Microsoft© gave the photo its current name and made it a key part of its marketing campaign for XP.

It is estimated that billions of people have seen the image, making it perhaps one of the most viewed photographs in history.

Look the iconic hill on Google Maps.

Celebrating International Day of Radiology (IDoR)

Every year on Nov. 8, we celebrate International Day of Radiology.

This year, on the 127th anniversary of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen’s discovery of the X-ray, we would like to tell you about Interventional Radiology.

The genesis of interventional radiology can be credited to Charles Dotter, a pioneer vascular radiologist who first discussed the idea of interventional radiology in 1963 (1). He suggested that an innovative approach to the use of an angiographic catheter could have important therapeutic implications. The last few decades have witnessed exponential growth in the field of interventional radiology and medical devices, including the development of diagnostic imaging techniques, embolization and tumor ablation techniques and arterial stents and grafts, etc.

Fujifilm has introduced various dedicated modalities and minimally invasive technological tools over the years to facilitate the fast and stress-free image-guided treatment of medical conditions.

Continue reading “Celebrating International Day of Radiology (IDoR)”

Breast Cancer and Prevention, the Fear of Screening and How to overcome it

When choosing a healthy living routine, the goal is to stay healthy and live long. However, alongside meals with light and fresh foods, simple exercises to keep fit without excessive physical exertion, and extra attention to hydration, we need to remember that there is also another routine at the heart of healthy living. That of diagnostic examinations, which it is right to undergo at a cadence suggested by the family doctor. And to participate without fear or dread in the routine of cancer screenings. 

Mammography screening: no fear because it saves lives

This is not the case for everyone, but there are many who flee checkups and examinations because of the enormous worry of “having something.” The main fear is that of discovering a malignant tumor; mammography, among the female population, is among the most feared exams along with Pap smears, ultrasound and CT scans. The invitation to come to a specialized center for national mammography screening, which is free of charge and every two years, is often left unheeded by those who are in the target range between 50 and 69 years old. The risk of this fear? For those who avoid the exams is to overlook serious, and less serious, symptoms to the point of making them more difficult to treat or even incurable. Dr. Anna Abate of San Gerardo in Monza, who works in the Breast Unit and specializes in mammography screening, explained it well to us in this interview:

“Unfortunately, most women, do not have a clear understanding of the value and purpose of screening […] a valuable modality of diagnosis because it allows detection of lesions that are not yet clinically detectable. Most women still do not understand that the possible presence of a lesion that is not clinically palpable ensures the possibility of early intervention. […] But prevention must be done in another spirit: not as a condemnation but as an opportunity to detect lesions that are still very small with a low surgical, therapeutic, and therefore psychological impact and a better prognosis.”

Mammography: don’t be influenced by environment and experience

Why does fear block so many women and how do we overcome it? The first piece of advice is to start with a necessary distinction: fear dwells in our minds, while danger is present and concrete in reality. The fear of the results of cancer screening, such as mammography, is in the head, but the danger of cancer is well present with its burden of complexity and treatment. In fact, breast cancer continues to be the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women. But thanks to screening and increased awareness, it’s possible to dignosticate it at an early stage.

So what happens when the fear of screening is triggered? Psychologist and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett, in her book “How Emotions are Made,” explains that we don’t simply react to external stimuli, but we help create our emotions depending on our surroundings and our past experiences. So the idea of having a screening test for breast cancer, in a specialized center, with a doctor and mammographer invokes in many an extreme: if I do this test then I will find cancer and my life is in danger. It is called prediction: our brain is constructing a negative situation even when, in reality, that situation does not exist. And this happens based on memories of similar situations already experienced, such as, for example, someone’s account of an experience that has left trauma. In the case of mammography screening, the prediction is the testimony of women who have recounted discovering cancer this way.

But if we rationalize this, the reality leads us to an entirely different conclusion: an examination is being done to prevent a potential life-threatening disease, and therefore, even if there is an alteration or abnormality, action can be taken in time to increase survival. In the case of crippling fear, one must get out of one’s head and look at what is really there: doing prevention allows for healthy living and intervention. By its nature, mammography screening is a test that targets healthy people and is not invasive at all.

These directions are not a substitute for consultation and discussion with your physician, but are reported for informational and educational purposes only.