Surge Protection for i-CAT
We have had some terrific storms that knock out our electricity, and do damage every time to our icat. We have surge protectors, including a new APC 1500 that still did not work. What is everyone else using for power/surge control??

This is kind of interesting

I found this today and thought it was an interesting way to compare radiation doses. Check it out at http://blog.xkcd.com/2011/03/19/radiation-chart/

Do We Own a Lemon?

We purchased a classic icat in 2005, and since the beginning have had repair problems: y-rotors, mother boards, completely new computer, and finally the complete upgrade last fall. Now the beam limiter is not working (and we had a repair on that 2 years ago). To complicate matters, parts are not in stock; when we did get the parts, most of them did not work and ISI had to send more replacements. We are now waiting again for parts that are not in stock, and our downtime is seriously affecting our business. So, is eveyone with the classic icat experiencing similar problems, or do we have a lemon? (Don't get me wrong, I do like the icat--just wondering what everyone else's experiences have been!)

NY Times Article and iCAT Users

You have all been made aware of this article and the Imaging Sciences response by now. We had a patient call our office the day after this article came out with questions about his scan. We have had several more since then. We are in the process of drafting a response for all of our staff, receptionists and technicians, to use when patients question the cone beam scans.

How do you handle patient radiation concerns in your office? Do you have a standardized response that all of your staff uses? Do you have a handout for your patients to answer their radiation concerns?

Vickie

Thanksgiving Card 2010

Here is our 3d card for this year - thought you might enjoy it. Marcelle

i-CAT upgrade promotional opportunity

This is an excellent opportunity for getting "marketing mileage" out of your investment! Upgrading your i-CAT demonstrates commitment to referring doctors by virtue that you're investing in cutting-edge diagnostics. Be sure to let them know about it.

We have been working with a few imaging centers and have developed great advertising and media content; if you prefer we can taylor the promotion to your unique needs.

Seize your opportunities when they arise, such as this upgrade.

Amos

www.imagingmarketing.com

541.556.6713

oops...same url as before: rmox.com

New website for RMOX

Please check out my new website - all comments (and corrections) are appreciated!

Thanks to all of you that have websites - I borrowed ideas, ok, some plagorism was involved, and concepts from all of you!

Marcelle

Well...How many of you are out there discovering that you will not be getting the upgrade to a 14 bit in the near future? I am concerned that they (ISI) are not telling the whole truth about their situation of not getting the parts from the manufacturer. Any thoughts or information would be appreciated. Lost in Petaluma

iCAT Updgrade continued...

Well, by Friday my machine in Northglenn was upgraded. And we love it!! Good image and really fast! Still working out a few kinks with my network and software (oops...forgot we needed the Adobe on this computer!)

The bad news is that they were not able to upgrade my other lab in Denver, after I had marked off 2 days to do it. They are being very accomodating about rescheduling. Hopefully, they have learned alot on my install and will correct the problems ( I think they will).

I'll keep you posted if any other issues come up.................

iCAT Upgrade

I am upgrading from 12bit to 14bit this week. So far it is not going well because they did not send all of the proper parts. If you have not had your power supply + tubehead replaced, then they will need to do it now. Somehow, this was overlooked...oh, yea, then they overlooked sending it overnight air so we are down one more day. I will keep everyone posted...I'm afraid ISI isn't even close to the company it once was :-(

I am still waiting for my upgrade to the 14 bit and the xoran software upgrade. Does anyone out there have this upgrade?
I am trying to find out how to create a report file that can be used universally by each CD that I produce for my docs. Is anyone doing this type of production?
Thanks

i-cat 3d dvt cb cone beam with extended field and panorama option for sale

I am selling our i-cat 3d dvt cb cone beam (bought january 2007) with extended field and pan-option

The kavo-group (Imaging Sciences International, Soredex, Instrumentarium Dental, Gendex, kavo) was unable to get our i-cat in proper working conditions in Austria Europe. See also my post from March 28, 2010.

We also have an extended warranty till february the 5th 2012, at the moment paid till february 2011.

As this case is in my opinion a big shame for imaging sciences international and kavo, I would expect them to be very helpful delivering and installing this wonderful machine in an world area, where they have competent technicians available.

For details see www.kavo-never.com

Please send offers to kavonever@gmail.com

Johann Wochl, Maishofen, Austria, Europe

www.wochl.com

Customer Users' Meeting & 3-D Dental Imaging Congress

We invite all i-CAT and GXCB-500 customers to join us at our 4th Annual 3-D Dental Imaging Congress in La Jolla, CA from June 24-26, 2010. We will be hosting a customer Users' Meeting on Thursday, June 24th from 8 am - 5 pm, covering the following topics:

• Product Update Information
• Patient Postioning, Scanning Protocols review
• IT and Networking
• Software Review
• Breakout sessions for Xoran Software review & update and Invivo Software review.

We encourage you to stay on for the entire Congress as well as there will be many relevant topics such as CBCT Interpretation, Billing, and Marketing, etc. Please go to http://www.i-cat3d.com/3dimgcongress.asp for more details or contact me at liz.qualtier@imagingsciences.com if any questions.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Liz Qualtier

replacement of icat anavoidable

We bought icat in february 2007 with pan-option and extended warranty till february 2012
Actually there is not even the pan-option shown on the computer. Probably due to the frequent software and acquisition computer crashes we always had networking problems (dicoms not available in all operatories). Nevertheless we were enthusiastic about the possibility to take immediate 3d-pictures.

Since the breakdown of the first x-ray tube, the kavo group (imaging sciences, kavo, gendex, instrumentarium dental, soredex) was till today unable to put our icat back in working conditions. Since July 2009 I delegated the task of getting the kavo group to honor the till february 2010 paid extended warranty by properly repairing the icat without any success.

Instead of honoring the extended warranty they use a big lawyer office trying to intimidate me.

In a couple of days I will post the link to my webpage with all the documents, so everybody can build his own opinions on facts
- not working at all at taking of evidence by court on 10th march 2010
- letters of kavo lawyers
- bills of delivery from kavo when trying to get icat working
- confirmation of payment of extended warranty
- many of my emails, mostly not answered at all
- proof that we escalated this issue up to the CEO of the kavo group henner.witte@kavo.com without any avail
- when icat hoaxed into working (many restarts), absolutely inaccceptable horrible abominable inacceptable picture quality
- inacceptable data losses of taken pictures when icat was functioning from january 2007 till may 2008 (when the hard disk of the acquisition computer was full at the end of 2007, the kavo group demanded that we place at their disposal a dedicated windows server. We complied immediately but they never teached their service personal about the icatserver)
- kavo does not obey and not honor the x-ray law

We tried everything to avoid loosing our whole investment in the icat, by trying over month to get it repaired by the kavo group (extended warranty was paid and valid). We asked during the last 2 weeks all other dental suppliers in our area for help. They all declined because as expected have no certified technicians for the icat.

So after 9 month of this ordeal we had to take the decision to replace our icat, otherwise the damage to our dental office would even be greater than the write-off of the icat.

I will in future post all relevant documents on www.kavo-never.com.

Johann Wochl

Airway Reports

I need some guidance on what kind of reports people are doing for airway. I have never done one and would like the input of our group as to what software you use and how you give the report to the referring doc.

Magic material needed!

A doctor's office called today to complain about the streaking along the top of the image. They wondered if there was something wrong with my printer. When I told them it was caused by the metal crowns on ALL of the patient's lower teeth, they suggested I put something over the teeth "like a rubber dam or something" that will cover the crowns so that they won't show up like this in the image.

...I'm guessing they won't be sending me any more patients because of my shoddy work.

i-CAT Vision Software Training Session

Are any imaging centers attending ISI's i-CAT Vision Software Training Session in Anaheim on November 4, 2009?

i-CAT Vision Tru-Pan

I got my Tru-Pan upgrade today. Very impressive!

Mr. Pumpkin Head

Specials for Tru-Pan software and InVivo Dental Software

Hi everyone!!

We are having some great fall specials!! Good until 12-31-09

*If you are currently under any kind of warranty, you qualify for a large discount on Tru-Pan software!!

- Basic level = 45% discount
- Bronze level = 55% discount
- Silver level (annual commitment and pre-paid) = 65% discount (Tru-Pan retails for $9,999). (www.tru-pan3d.com)

*If you purchase Tru-Pan at a 25% discount (you pay $7,500), we will give you the InVivo Dental Imaging software for free!! Please visit www.anatomage.com for details on this software. If interested please call me at 888 883 3947 x 1149 or todd.liberty@imagingsciences.com I can email you some more images of Tru-Pan to give you an idea of the detail involved. Thanks!!

i-CAT User Meeting Outline

Below is a brief outline of the topics we will review at the i-CAT User Meeting next week in Portland. If you are interested in attending and have not yet registered with me, please email me at liz.qualtier@imagingsciences.com so I can sign you up. Again, the meeting is Saturday, Sept. 19 from 2:30-5:30 pm, after theAADMRT annual session adjourns.

1. We will start the meeting with a Demonstration of the beta version of the Xoran upgrade which is targeted for release in the first quarter of 2010. This demonstration will contain topics such as nerve canal mapping, configurable fonts for reports, etc.

2. Standard Resolution Scans vs. High Resolution Scans: Matt Kroona will present his findings on recent cadaver studies.

3. i-CATVision: Did you know? A review of functions that you may not have been aware of.

4. Update on New Features: Includes a demonstration of the recently released Tru-Pan (ATP) product.

i-CAT User Meeting

ISI will be hosting an i-CAT User Meeting at the AADMRT Convention this year. It will be held at the same hotel as your convention, The Hilton in Portland, OR on Saturday, September 19, from 2:30-5:30 pm in The Parlors. If interested in attending, I ask that you please email me so I can send you a Registration Form with details, liz.qualtier@imagingsciences.com
Please call me if any questions, 215-997-5666, x284.

Thanks and I look forward to seeing you all there!
Liz

iCAT Users Meeting?

Does anyone know when the user's meeting in Portland will be? Let us know Imaging Sciences folks! Thanks.

Tru-Pan powered by i-CAT

Tru-pan is here!! Please go to the following link to see a live image being created with this remarkable software: http://www.tru-pan3d.com/ *click video*

Please call me at 888 883 3947 x 1149 if you would like to talk about upgrading to a gold level service package which carries benefits for Tru-Pan software.

Email: todd.liberty@imagingsciences.com


Thanks!! :)

HIPAA Rules on consent to email records

I seem to be getting a lot of calls lately from doctors asking me to email them x-rays of patients that were originally requested by another doctor. I've always done this routinely but I'm starting to wonder if I should be getting patient's consent to do this. It seems appropriate to me that a doctor could request a patient's records without their consent, because the only way they would know we have the records is if the patient informs them, which implies (in my mind) consent.

Does anyone have any experience with this or have an opinion? I'd hate to have to contact the patient to get their permission PLUS I'd also hate to have to start keeping a paper trail of consent for all these requests.

Thanks for any ideas you all might have.

American Society of Radiologic Technologists session at RSNA

Hello everyone,

I thought this may interest you guys:

RSNA (Radiological Society of North America) and ASRT (American Society of Radiologic Technologists are offering a 1.5 day education program specifically designed for radiologic technologists during the RSNA annual session in Chicago. The Program begins Wednesday afternoon (Dec 2nd) and runs all day on Thursday (Dec 3rd). Topics include radiation exposure, talking to parents about radiation safety issues, technology issues, and the changing role of the technologist. More can be found at their website http://www.rsna.org/

Dania

10% off any selected warranty until June 26th close of business

Hi!

For those of you not currently participating in a service agreement (warranty), we are offering a special for 10% any program at any level (including gold). Please email me at todd.liberty@imagingsciences.com or call at 888 883 3947 x 1149 if you are interested. Thanks!

If the one year price even with discount is to much for your budget, please call or email me. We have some other options to better fit your budget if needed. Thanks!

New optional software upgrade for i-CAT

Hi!

We are excited about a release of a new software upgrade in the next few months for the classic and platinum i-CAT machines!! Please also check the website for additional information on i-CAT vision updates as well.

Introduction

Hi everyone! I was invited by Eric to share my experiences and get your feed back to make your experience with the i-CAT as best as possible. Here is a little bit about myself.

My name is Todd Liberty, and I have had the pleasure of talking to some of you already. I work with the ISI (i-CAT) and the Gendex (CB500) 3D cone beam machines and the service level agreements involved with those machines. I have been in the dental profession both business and lab/surgical assisting for about 14 years now. I spent eight of those years in the United States Navy as a Dental Technician in the United States and also in Keflavik, Iceland. I will be glad to post when software updates are available and promotions for our service agreements (extended warranty) for those who have not chosen to participate in a service plan yet. Please let me know if you have any questions pertaining to your i-CAT classic or next generation platinum or Gendex CB500 unit. I will serve you the best I can.

todd.liberty@imagingsciences.com


THANK YOU! :)

Bunny Ceph

Happy Easter!

3rd International Congress on 3-D Dental Imaging

Highly Anticipated 3-D Congress Features Interdisciplinary Approach to 3-D Dentistry!
The 3rd International Congress on 3-D Dental Imaging has expanded its agenda offering original and exciting content. New and returning attendees will garner insights on how to implement three-dimensional planning to expand treatment services, leading to better patient care and practice growth, through clinical teamwork of dental professionals.
The 3rd International Congress on 3-D Dental Imaging, sponsored by Imaging Sciences International and Gendex Dental Systems and held this year in Chicago, Illinois on June 19th and 20th, features a variety of dental clinicians and professionals from nearly all dental specialties. These eleven leaders in education offer their expertise on practical applications of this dynamic technology as well as an interdisciplinary teamwork approach to 3-D treatment that can benefit both patients and the practice.

For more information on the Program, Agenda, Speakers, Lecture Topics and more, please visit www.i-CAT3D.com.

i-CAT User Meeting

The i-CAT User Meeting will be held on April 25, 2009 from 5pm to 7 pm at the Delta King Hotel which is just down the block from the Embassy Suites. The address is 1000 Front Street, Old Sacramento, CA 95814. We will be in the Fort Sutter Room. If any questions, please feel free to contact me at 215-997-5666, x284. I look forward to seeing you there!
Liz

AADMRT Spring Seminar & i-CAT Users Meeting

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the AADMRT 2009 Spring meeting. This is a one day seminar and this year our theme will be Conebeam CT. If you own a CBCT, or are thinking about getting one, you do not want to miss this meeting. It is packed full of dynamic speakers who will present to you the information needed in today’s competitive market.
We will begin the day with Mr. Arun Singh and Mr. David Sebok who will share the podium to discuss the fundamentals of CBCT. You will learn to better appreciate the effects of noise, signal, artifacts and other factors that can affect the quality of your scans. Next, we will hear from Dr. Timothy Mickiewicz. He is a great and dynamic speaker who will educate you on his uses of CBCT for facial pain and sleep apnea patients. This is one speaker you will not want to miss, he is upbeat, fun, and very knowledgeable on his material. Mr. Steve McEvoy has spoken to our group before, and we are fortunate to have him back again. He will speak on some of the IT challenges that all CBCT users face and how to avoid common problems. He will also offer solutions for
backing up data, printing, and much more. Dr. Peter Worth will begin the afternoon on his perspective on CBCT and how it relates to orthodontics. I think Dr. Worth has been using CBCT for ortho longer than any orthodontist in the country. He understands its capabilities and he will share with us the orthodontic point of view of what this tool can provide, and what it is lacking. The last speaker of the day is an oral and Maxillofacial Radiologist named Dr. Shaza Mardini. She will address what is seen in CBCT scans and help us understand what constitutes variations of normal, what does not, and when a radiologist should be consulted on a case. The day is packed full of great speakers, 6 speakers in 6 hours. Make your reservations early, we do have limited space and this will sell out. I hope to see you there!

Craig Dial
2009 Spring Convention Chair

General Information

Accessibility
The Embassy Suites hotel is located about 15 minutes from Sacramento
Airport off of Interstate 5. Fees for a cab ride is about $30.00, and the
super shuttle bus is about $15.00. The address of the hotel is 100 Capitol
Mall, Sacramento, California, 95814.

Registration
The registration fee for this meeting is set at a very reasonable rate
of $125.00 per person for members and $195.00 for non members.
This fee includes the full day of AADMRT sanctioned meeting, and
lunch. Registration is due no later than April 11th, 2009, otherwise a
late fee of $50.00 will be added to your registration fee. Print the brochure (including registration information) or register online (AADMRT members only) at www.AADMRT.com.

Users Meeting
There will be a Imaging Sciences users meeting held at the same
hotel from 5:00 pm-7:00 pm. To sign up for this event, please
contact Liz Qualtier at 215-997-5666. x284 or
liz@imagingsciences.com

CE Credit
The California Board of Dental Examiners approves this course
outline as a continuing education credit. A total of 6 C.E. credits
will be awarded at the close of this meeting.

Events

About The Area
Sacramento is a cosmopolitan convergence of tall, gleaming buildings,
hearty Victorians, splendid restaurants and shops, a vibrant arts scene,
and a virtual cornucopia of state of the art meeting facilities. Sacramento
has been called a snapshot of Wild West history in a modern, world-class
city. It is also where the Sacramento River and American river meet.

Accommodations
A small block of rooms have been reserved at the elegant Embassy
Suites Hotel in Sacramento. We have reserved a few rooms for Friday,
April 24th and Saturday, April 25th. The Embassy Suites Hotel is located
right next to the historic Old Town Sacramento. Old Town has a 1850’s
feel with wooden planked side walks and it is on the river front. I highly
recommend seeing Old Town, for more information, please log onto:
www.oldsacramento.com and for more things to do and see around the
area, log onto: www.sacramentocvb.org
We have negotiated a special room rate of $169.00 single or double
occupancy, please call 916-326-5000 for reservations and mention the
AADMRT for your special rate. Rooms are equipped with wet bar,
microwave, refrigerator, 42 in flat screen TV, and internet access. Plus
the Embassy Suites has a complimentary breakfast and a manager’s
reception in the evening for guests.

Agenda
Saturday, April 25th 2009
8:00- 9:00 Registration
(coffee, tea, and small snacks available)
9:00- 10:00 Mr. Arun Singh & Mr. David Sebok
Fundamentals of 3-D Image Formation, Effects of Noise and Artifacts
10:00-11:00 Dr. Timothy Mickiewicz
Using CBCT for Airway Evaluation and Sleep Apnea
11:00-12:00 Mr. Steve McEvoy
“Solving IT challenges at Imaging Labs”
12:00-1:00 ********** Lunch *************
1:00-2:00 Dr. Peter Worth
Using CBCT in Everyday Orthodontic Diagnosis & Treatment Planning
2:00-4:00 Dr. Shaza Mardini
CtSI-Ct Scan Investigation
4:00 Meeting adjourned
Pick up C.E. Certificates from Merry Hampton
5:00-7:00 Imaging Sciences International Users Group

Me too, Matt! All Digital...

Wow...it hasn't been easy either! How are folks handling magnification issues? I run everything through Dolphin so I print 1:1, but on my CBCT cephs, I add in the 9.7% magnification factor. So, it gets a little confusing. What are other people doing?

100% Digital!!!

I used my last piece of x-ray film this morning. I am now 100% digital! It took a year to get here but there's no looking back now!

Camera Flash

Does anyone have any recommendations for a ring flash or something similar that you may be using? I had a Nikon SB-29s speedlight, but it just gave out on me. I checked the internet but it seems like they have discontinued the product. Any recommendations would be great.

JOB OPENING?

Is there any labs out there looking for a tech? Full time or part time?

Soft Tissue Filter

I need a line on a soft tissue filter for cephs. For many years I've been using a cassette with a built in soft tissue filter and now I'm changing over to the Phosphor Screen (PSP) system and I need a good filter. I have a leftover one from the the old "par speed" film days but it doesn't work too well with the PSP sensor. Anyone have any good ideas for me? I'm amazed that the people who sell this stuff don't have the resources at their fingertips for things like this.

addendum to radiologist poster

Because the free posters are available to ACR members only, I have been told that, as a member, I can order these posters for scanning centers on one form. They do want me to limit them to a dozen, so if you are interested, please email me at dania@3ddx.com before the 30th of october, and you will get a free one. Of course, you can always order and pay for them from the ACR website.

Dania

Radiologist "Brain" poster

This is a free poster promoting radiological services for your waiting rooms, if you fill out the order form and fax it to ACR Marketing, Communications, and Public Relations Department at 703-648-0573 by Oct. 31.

http://www.acr.org/email/AnnRptPostcard.aspx

ACR "Face of Radiology" campaign

Hello everyone,

I was nice to see everyone in SF last week!

I wanted to share this with you, as I think a combined effort from both OMRs and DMRTs can help in increasing awareness of the importance of having CBCT scans read by a radiologist. The American College of Radiology is trying to increase public awareness of the specialty of radiology and what radiologists can do for them. Self referral (the practice of the doctor reading his own films) is also prevalent in medicine. They've launched the "Face of Radiology" campaign last year with that objective in mind. If you go onto www.mypatientconnection.com you'll find material that the ACR is asking radiologists to distribute to their patients, and a poster that clearly illustrates the amount of training that goes into becoming a radiologist. They also suggest modifying material to fit the clinician's specific services. You can take a look at the materials and see if anything will help you in your specific practice/business settings. These may help you in your everlasting battle to convince dentists to send scans for interpretation by a radiologist by educating your patients.

Dania

NEW VERSION I-CAT VISION

There is a new version of i-CAT Vision on there website! 1.6.1.10

Slow acquire and reconstruction - i-CAT Classic

I updated my Xoran software several months ago to ver 3.1.77 and have been pleased with how it works. I have done only .2, .3 & .4mm scans up until today, when I performed a .25mm scan. The acquire was extremely slow (seemed like 2 minutes) and the reconstruct was over 10 minutes. Does this seem right? I immediately followed it with a .3mm scan which reconstructed in just 2 minutes. I just thought I check and see if others have this same experience.

i-CAT Users Meeting

ISI will be holding an i-CAT User Meeting on Thursday, October 2nd from 8 am to noon, just before the AADMRT Annual Meeting sessions begin. It will be in the Marines Memorial Hotel in the Crystal Lounge on the 11th floor. Continental Breakfast will be served.If you plan to attend, can you please email liz.qualtier@imagingsciences.com or call 215-997-5666, x284, and let me know how many attendees.Thanks and we look forward to seeing you there!
Liz

Liz Qualtier
Director of Education & Training
Imaging Sciences International
215-997-5666, x284
liz.qualtier@imagingsciences.com
www.i-cat.com

Kodak 8500 ribbon/paper

I was cleaning out an area and I found ribbon and paper for a Kodak 8500 printer. I had mine break down on me awile back and I forgot I had a supply of ribbon/paper still on hand. There is enough for, I believe, 150 printouts. So if anyone is interested let me know.

What is a "Micron"?

I was at a conference yesterday and one of the doctors asked about the resolution of my i-CAT images. I told him they were .4mm. He said, "but what is the resolution??" I explained to him the voxel size was .4mm. He said, "but what is the resolution in microns???". I told him I didn't know microns, only voxel size.

Anybody out there know "microns?"

We are all in this together!

This is kind of long and I apologize in advance. Don't feel obligated to read it. It's just my personal ponderings.

“In the long run, there can be no real joy for anybody until there is joy finally for us all.” Frederick Buechner

One morning last week, Dana Charter (who works for my good friend Matt Montgomery) stopped by my lab with coffee and donuts. He had a few questions about my digital camera and since it’s the one I recommended they buy, he thought I might be able to help him out. As we were chatting, my first patient arrived, so I started the photos on him while I continued my conversation with Dana. After a few minutes I felt a bit uncomfortable that I was ignoring my patient so I explained to him what was going on, and I introduced Dana to him as a “competitor”. Before I could qualify that his lab is 20 miles away so we’re really NOT competitors, Dana interrupted with the declaration, “I’m offended by that! We are not competitors, we are colleagues!” I smiled sheepishly, acknowledged my mistake, and we continued on with our “collegial” discussion.

Jump back in time with me. It’s about 30 years ago. My lab was located about 10 miles south in Newport Beach. It never really was a successful venture and eventually the owner moved it to the area around Huntington Beach, where he thought it could do better. Shortly after the move, a group of Newport Beach doctors decided to fill the void by opening a lab for their patients, but soon realized that there just wasn’t enough business in the area to support it. So they decided to offer “deep discounts” to patients who would be willing to drive the long distance to Newport Beach. I started getting calls from patients and doctors asking me to “match” the Newport price, which I declined to do. I don’t mind a little competition, I just want it to occur on a level playing field. The patients from Newport Beach won’t come to my lab to save money because their doctors refer them to the lab where they are financially invested. Since my doctors have no financial interest in my lab, they are tempted to send patients where it the cheapest.

Needless to say, this concerned me. I have always felt “collegial” to the labs that are around me and have no problem sending a patient to lab that’s closer to their work or home. But this situation with Newport had moved us from colleagues to competitors. I looked into what I could do to “level” the playing field but discovered I had very few options. I would sigh when patient would come in with a Newport slip, or when a doctor would call about a patient’s x-rays only to discover they had gone to the Newport lab. Time went by, the doctors divested themselves and eventually the lab was sold to a gal I know and considered a colleague. Relieved, I hoped that she would see the “error” of their “dual tier” fee policy and do the right thing. Unfortunately she didn’t, she couldn’t.

Not long ago, another lab moved into her area, giving her some stiff competition. As the economy in Orange County lagged, she eventually had to relocate to another area. The new location did not solve her financial problems and yesterday was her last day of business. I stopped by her lab today to see if she had anything for sale that might be useful to me. When I left, I shook her hand and told her that I was sorry things didn’t work out for her. But I wasn’t really sorry. Inside I was happy. After all these years I was vindicated. But why did I feel bad for her? Why was it so hard to enjoy this “victory”? I remembered the scene in the movie “You’ve Got Mail” where the female character verbally rips into her competitor, then experiences the regret that often goes along with verbal outbursts. I remembered the line from that movie, “It’s not personal, it’s business!” Even though my competition had been defeated, I felt bad that a friend had failed, had been hurt, and would continue to hurt over the next weeks, months, even years.

As I write this, I’m wondering if there isn’t a way we can compete with each other and still remain colleagues. Many of us succeed in doing this. But some don’t. The rules of business don’t always mesh cleanly with the rules of collegiality. I do feel bad for my colleague, the same way I think an athlete feels bad when their arch rival forfeits an event due to an injury. It’s nice to win but it feels so much better to win in a fair fight. And when you lose in a fair fight, it motivates you to work harder, do better, come back to fight another day. In an unfair fight, there are no winners, only losers.

The quote at the beginning of this story is from my favorite author. His words ran over and over in my mind today as I drove home from my colleague’s now defunct lab. We are all in this together. In the long run….

AADMRT Annual Convention

Hi All,
The annual AADMRT convention information is on www.AADMRT.com. The brochure is being mailed out this week end. The iCAT users meeting is also in the brochure agenda. Hope to see everyone at the meeting in San Francisco.