A real-time imaging technology designed for vascular diagnostics, the fully digital Angio 41 detector from PerkinElmer Optoelectronics of Fremont, Calif., provides physicians with high-resolution images of the vascular system, offering them heightened sensitivity for detection during medical procedures. Based on the company's amorphous silicon flat panel technology, the instrument combines speeds up to 30 frames per second and 200-µm image resolution to produce dynamic, detailed, fluoroscopic images of the human anatomy during angioplasty and other vascular procedures. The technology replaces image-intensifying x-ray systems, which produce less-vivid images. The detector converts x-ray signals into digital images, providing good image clarity with a large field of view. Larger than conventional x-ray devices, the 41-cm instrument allows a wider area of the patient to be viewed. Physicians also can see clearly inside a patient while guiding catheters and other devices to specific areas of the body. The company says that the detector promotes fast and efficient exam procedures and that it advances interventional procedures, which provide shorter patient recovery time and are less risky, painful and expensive than traditional surgeries.