CAMBRIDGE, MA (May 24, 2021) – IBM (NYSE: IBM) Watson Health today officially announced the latest release of its diagnostic viewer and image exchange platform, IBM iConnect® Access. A true zero-download web viewer, IBM iConnect Access is designed to allow healthcare providers to aggregate, exchange and access medical imaging data across the enterprise and extended care team, enabling real-time collaboration, from any web-connected device, anywhere. The platform will be showcased as part of IBM Watson Health™ interoperability solutions at this years’ virtual meeting of the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) May 24 – 27, 2021.

The latest release of IBM iConnect Access reflects the availability of new U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) cleared features and enhancements, including an optional 3D interactive segmentation tool to support the creation of 3D digital anatomic models. This new tool, when used in combination with the enhanced user interface, is designed to help healthcare providers quickly build an anatomically accurate and detailed 3D digital model from a patient’s medical imaging data. Editing tools such as freehand sculpt, polygon sculpt, 3D eraser, “cut and discard”, “cut and keep”, hole-filling and smoothing also can allow for easy editing.  

Other new features and enhancements include:

• Conference folders for teaching files
• PDF file generation for Key Object Selection (KO) and SR Document (SR) modalities in the universal viewer
• Enhanced computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) Service-Object Pair (SOP) Class viewing
• Pre-configured email addresses
• Emailing view-only studies
• Enhanced clinical viewing for the universal viewer

This latest release of IBM iConnect Access also forms the basis for the platform’s planned future 3D interactive printing feature. IBM Watson Health and Ricoh USA, Inc., an information management and digital services company, have entered into a collaboration to bring innovation and value in 3D printing to healthcare providers. Leveraging IBM’s strengths in transforming data into actionable insights and Ricoh’s expertise in industrial additive manufacturing, the companies are in the process of developing a turnkey, end-to-end solution for creating 3D printed anatomic models. The collaboration’s goal is to make 3D technology more widely accessible to healthcare providers, while also helping to streamline and simplify the process of creating 3D printed anatomic models.

“Today’s healthcare providers are handling more clinical data, from more devices, across a growing number of care settings, for larger populations,” said Alok Gupta, General Manager, IBM Watson Health Imaging. “IBM iConnect Access was developed as an interoperable, scalable platform designed to not only enable better management of and more access to clinical data, but to also serve as a robust foundation for new clinical and operational decision-making tools,” said Gupta. “The latest release of the platform exemplifies this vision.” 

IBM iConnect Access, which launched in 2008, is part of IBM Watson Health™ interoperability solutions along with IBM iConnect Enterprise Archive. Designed based on industry standards to help address the challenges faced by healthcare providers, the solutions can help eliminate clinical data silos by enabling one, comprehensive patient view regardless of specialty, source or format.

About IBM Watson Health

IBM Watson Health is a data, analytics, and technology partner for the health industry. Supported by the innovation of IBM and intelligence of Watson, we are committed to helping build smarter health ecosystems. Through the combination of our deep industry expertise in health, data and analytics, actionable insights, and reputation for security and trust, Watson Health is working together with its clients and partners to help them achieve simpler processes, better care insights, faster breakthroughs, and improved experiences for people around the world. Learn more at www.ibm.com/watson-health.

For more information about IBM visit, www.ibm.com. Statements regarding IBM's future direction and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice and represent goals and objectives only.

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