Partstat Partner Newswire, November 2022

Boeing’s B-52 Receives Major Upgrade

In a series of recent announcements, Boeing has announced new changes its B-52 aircraft.

Originally developed in the 1950s, the latest model will now feature F130 engines designed by Rolls-Royce, as well as a a new active electronic scanner array (AESA) radar. To accommodate these new upgrades, Boeing will completely redesign the cockpit to feature a new instrument panel which will include “new 8 x 10 digital displays, hybrid mechanical-to-digital throttle system, new data concentrators units (2x), new engine fault maintenance recorder, new engine air data system [and] modified system panels, as well as structural, electrical, pneumatic and hydraulic updates associated with this modernization effort.”

The ultimate goal of these upgrades, says Boeing, will be to allow the aircraft to launch an AGM-183 air-launched rapid response weapon (ARRWW), as well as the latest long-range stand-off (LRSO) hypersonic missiles.

New MRI Platform From Philips Healthcare Receives FDA Approval

The latest innovation from Philips Healthcare, an artificial-intelligence-powered MRI platform designed for detecting head and neck cancers.

Known as the MRCAT, the application allows physicians to skip CT scans and use MRI machines as the primary or only imaging modality for planning radiotherapy in soft tissue tumors of the head and neck, says a press release from Philips Healthcare.

The AI software — which creates images with CT-like density information derived from a single, high-resolution MR scan taking less than three minutes — can also be used to help treat cancers within the brain, pelvis, and prostate by assisting with patient positioning and radiation dose calculations.

“The superior soft tissue imaging of MR together with advances in the integration and orchestration of data, including the use of artificial intelligence, promise greater clarity and less subjectivity in planning radiotherapy for head and neck cancer,” said Ilya Gipp, M.D., Ph.D., Philips’ chief medical officer for oncology solutions, in the release.

Honeywell Announces New Advanced SmartPay System

Honeywell has announced a new way for businesses to securely complete customer transactions.

Called Honeywell Smart Pay, this new system is a contactless software payment solution that enables the company’s powerful mobile computers to become secure and compliant payment terminals, accepting contactless mobile payments from anywhere a business sells or delivers goods and services. As a result, sales associates and service employees to finalize payments on-the-spot in retail parcel delivery, public transportation services, and any other industry where mobile payments are used, Honeywell said in a press release.

This new solution follows an ongoing trend of customers across the business spectrum preferring digital payments to cash. According to the Federal Reserve Board, only one in five consumers preferred to pay with cash for in-person payments. Salesforce1 recently reported 83% of consumers have already used contactless payments, and 65% of customers plan to use contactless payments more in the next three years.

“Effortless check-out and the delivery of specialized customer service can help create loyal customers and make lasting impressions,” said Taylor Smith, chief technology officer of Honeywell Productivity Solutions and Services. “We designed Honeywell Smart Pay with the goal of helping merchants make consumer purchasing faster, easier and secure – making the customer experience better.”