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Imaging News A Look at What’s Changing in the Imaging Industry
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A LOOK AT WHAT’S CHANGING IN THE IMAGING INDUSTRY
DICOM SYSTEMS DEPLOYS ENTERPRISE MEDICAL IMAGING PLATFORM AT ORLANDO HEALTH
Dicom Systems has delivered an enterprise-wide imaging platform to Orlando Health to support the management of medical imaging exams. Orlando Health, which is made up of eight hospitals and outpatient care centers serving over 2.6 million patients annually, was in search of an enterprise imaging system that could transfer workflow functions from their PACS and act as the command center for the transfer, normalization and optimization of a high volume of medical imaging exams.
“In partnership with Orlando Health, we architected a solution that enables them to sustain their imaging growth and spikes in utilization for years to come without going back to the drawing board. Our intervention for this sensitive mission was carefully orchestrated in close collaboration with the Orlando Health team; imaging services remained 100% operational throughout the transition,” said Florent Saint-Clair, executive vice president of Dicom Systems. Dicom Systems Unifier features deployed include: • Advanced Intelligent Routing: Unifier routing enables customized workflows to automatically route images to multiple reading and archiving locations. • DICOM Load Balancer: Provides full configuration and management of DICOM image caching and compression for faster application delivery and scalability. Accurate, up-to-date health checks on application and server performance support the multisite enterprise and guarantee all the images route to the intended destination • Tag-morphing: Feature offloads all routing tasks from PACS to Unifier. The engine substantially improves the speed and performance of the enterprise by applying all transformations on data in flight. • High Availability Architecture: Incorporates multiple Unifier appliance clusters across multiple data centers. “Dicom Systems is pleased to provide Orlando Health with the Unifier Enterprise Imaging platform to bolster the resilience of their workflows. The high-availability nodes span two data centers and load-balance imaging traffic to multiple PACS ingestion points,” said Dmitriy Tochilnik, president and CTO of Dicom Systems. “The complex technical environment at Orlando Health, along with the ingenuity and commitment of their IT teams to deliver the new platform under a tight deployment timeline, provided us with an opportunity to deliver value-added, real-world solutions.”
Dicom Systems will showcase its Enterprise Imaging Unifier platform at HIMSS in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention Center from March 10-12, 2020. •
FOR MORE INFORMATION, visit www.dcmsys.com.
MINDRAY LAUNCHES TE7 ACE POINT-OF-CARE SOLUTION
Mindray Medical has announced the release of a new point-of-care ultrasound system. The TE7 ACE is a new touch screen ultrasound system that provides targeted solutions to diverse point-of-care scenarios including: anesthesia, critical care and emergency.
Featuring smart fluid management tools, safe needling toolkit, seamless data connectivity and a complete disinfection solution, TE7 ACE helps clinicians to deal with diagnostic challenges and make rapid decision.
“Having identified the clinical challenges, Mindray developed this solution to empower clinicians with more confidence to focus on patient care,” said Xujin He, the general manager of medical imaging system business unit at Mindray.
In terms of managing patient body fluid, quick assessment can help to work out the fluid therapy plan and save lives. Based on deep learning algorithms, the clinically proven advanced fluid measurement tools of TE7 ACE are offered to accelerate patient assessments accurately and efficiently: • Smart VTI: automatically calculates the Velocity Time Integral, Cardiac Output and Stroke Volume Variation. The trending graph helps for efficient recording and guides for the fluid therapy. • Smart IVC: automatically traces the IVC diameter change, and calculates the Collapsibility Index or Distensibility Index and IVC Variation, helps for the assessment of volume status and responsiveness. • Smart B-line: automatically calculates B-lines number, percentage and distance. It provides unique visual scoring map for intuitive overall lung water evaluation, guiding the fluid infusion and preventing pulmonary edema. To ensure safe, simple and convenient needle guidance, the newly launched L12-3VNs with 3 programmable buttons combines eSpacial Navi and remote control into one so that clinicians can perform puncture without touching the system.
The connectivity solution eGateway also enables TE7 ACE to seamlessly fit into the existing hospital network, incorporating patient’s clinical data collected from both ultrasound equipment and patient monitors for wiser clinical decision making. This efficient and paperless process improves productivity while reducing the risk of transcription errors. •
UNITED IMAGING PROVIDES DEVICES TO WUHAN EMERGENCY FIELD HOSPITAL To help front-line physicians, nurses and other health care professionals diagnose and treat the coronavirus, United Imaging has donated medical imaging equipment and protective medical gear worth more than $1.4 million to hospitals in Wuhan, China, at the center of the outbreak.
On Feb. 1, United Imaging also finished installation of three high-end CT scanners – one uCT 780 (160-slice CT scanner) and two uCT 760s (128-slice CT scanners) – at the Huoshenshan Hospital, an emergency specialty field hospital with 1,000 beds built in less than 10 days in Wuhan. United Imaging accomplished the installation while the hospital was under construction, within half the time it usually takes to install this equipment. The company dispatched 15 service engineers to work in three continuous shifts, as well as a 25-person team that included project managers, clinical application professionals and operations to provide on-site support.
At the same time, the company set up additional spare parts sites near the hospital to ensure a quick response in case of need. United Imaging also accelerated production to get more than 100 CT scanners and X-ray machines out quickly to hospitals in Wuhan, Shanghai, Beijing, Zhejiang, Inner Mongolia and other regions in China.
With scanning workflow fully empowered by AI technology, United Imaging CT systems enable automatic patient positioning and scanning from the operation room. Because technologists don’t have to go into the scan room, this feature can help prevent cross infection between technologists and patients. Also, the ability to scan more than 300 patients daily provides a robust foundation for smooth and efficient hospital operations. United Imaging’s engineers are standing by 24 hours a day to respond to emergency calls from hospitals. Along with these engineers, hundreds of United Imaging employees have been contributing to this effort for more than 10 consecutive days, working through holidays and returning early, to support the health care professionals across China fighting the coronavirus.
United Imaging also deployed its UIH CLOUD remote diagnosis platform in frontline hospitals as soon as the outbreak occurred. With this platform, patient images scanned at designated hospitals can be uploaded to the top hospitals in China in order to support remote, real-time diagnosis and guidance from doctors. According to reports, the platform achieved more than 1,000 diagnoses at one hospital in just one week.
As a global company, United Imaging is committed to access for all to the best possible care worldwide and is proud to play a small part alongside so many who are going above and beyond in this moment. •
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CARESTREAM DIGITAL TOMOSYNTHESIS RECEIVES FDA CLEARANCE Carestream’s digital tomosynthesis (DT) functionality – a three-dimensional extension of general radiography – has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Simplifying workflow and reducing exam time, DT technology is an upgradable option on the Carestream DRX-Evolution Plus System, a versatile digital radiography system that can perform a wide range of general radiographic exams.
Digital tomosynthesis uses a single sweep of X-ray exposures and streamlines operator workflow by separating the process of DT exposure acquisition from image volume formation. As a result, it can generate data from a series of low dose X-ray images of the same organ, taken at the same X-ray exposure, from different angles.
“The images captured by digital tomosynthesis technology offer greater depth and enhanced visualization,” said Sarah Verna, worldwide marketing manager for global X-ray solutions at Carestream. “Doctors and radiologists will be able to perform scans quickly, providing valuable clinical information for further diagnosis while improving the workflow in an X-ray room.”
Digital tomosynthesis, like a computed tomography (CT) scan, can produce cross-sectional images of an organ, allowing for increased visibility. This capability enhances the DRX-Evolution Plus in situations where physicians need quick answers.
“In trauma centers, CT rooms are always overbooked and there’s always a wait,” Verna said. “Now a doctor can further examine any body part, including the chest or lungs, with digital tomosynthesis because it generates many image slices, which helps sharpen diagnosis and make medical treatment more efficient. Digital tomosynthesis does not replace computed tomography and can be used in conjunction with it.”
Carestream customers will now have the option to purchase the DT software for their DRX-Evolution Plus systems. Coupled with the company’s new ImageView Software that is powered by the Eclipse image processing engine, the DRX-Evolution Plus with digital tomosynthesis transforms into a powerful digital imaging tool for hospital systems. •
EOS IMAGING ANNOUNCES FIRST INSTALLATION OF EOSEDGE IN NORTH AMERICA
EOS imaging has announced the first installation of its new EOSedge system in North America at CHU Sainte-Justine Mother and Child University Hospital Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
This second EOSedge system installation worldwide follows the first system install in 2019 in Lyon, France. EOSedge is installed in Ste Justine hospital’s orthopedic department.
A clinical research program with EOSedge led by Professor Carl-Éric Aubin and Dr. Stefan Parent at CHU Sainte-Justine will cover a wide range of areas such as multi-spectral imaging and biomechanical modeling in multiple clinical applications, as well as clinical studies on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and bone metabolic conditions.
“We are pleased that the first North American installation of our newly FDA and Health Canada cleared EOSedge system is at an institution with a dedicated value to advancing patient care. This installation marks another step in deploying, on a global scale a solution that not only further improves our dose reduction and whole-body imaging capabilities, but also adds new and unrivaled performance in image resolution and quality. We look forward to quick adoption of this outstanding imaging solution,” EOS imaging CEO Mike Lobinsky said. •
EXPANDING COLLABORATIVE IMAGING PROMISES TO END RADIOLOGY CONSOLIDATION
The $18 billion radiology industry continues to face a growing threat of consolidation, resulting in larger practices, higher medical costs, diminished patient care and increased physician burnout. In response, Collaborative Imaging has formed a business model to end radiology consolidation by ensuring practices can sustain autonomy while providing an investment vehicle that protects continued financial success.
“Radiologists have faced tremendous pressures over the past decade that have drastically changed the industry’s landscape as a result of consolidation, reimbursement changes, sub-specialty and in-house night coverage in addition to the new complex billing and reporting requirements,” said Dhruv Chopra, CEO of Collaborative Imaging. “As a result, practices are being forced to make significant investments in technology, building administrative teams to handle non-clinical functions, purchase or develop additional applications and take a leap into operating their practice as a business if they are to continue to exist. However, many practices do not have the resources or capital available to make these investments, and as such they are forced to throw in the towel and relinquish control of their practices to private-equity backed consolidators. These consolidators use their business acumen to capitalize on the inefficiencies the practices have and missed opportunities to realize additional revenues that do not get passed on to the physicians who are actually the ones performing the work. Collaborative Imaging is founded on the principal that we want our physicians to enjoy the upside that is theirs, and as such, we’re fighting to protect the practice of independent radiology.”
As a national radiologist-owned alliance, Collaborative Imaging was conceived by radiologists in conjunction with financial and industry experts to combat the root causes of why an independent practice would sell to a consolidator. With more than 150 years of combined industry experience in technology, medical billing and workflow solutions, Collaborative Imaging offers an alternative to consolidation by providing the tools needed to help the practice remain independent and autonomous while drastically increasing revenue. •
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HITACHI HEALTHCARE AMERICAS CREATES MEDICAL IMAGING INNOVATION CENTER
Hitachi Healthcare Americas has announced that it will create a new dedicated research and development facility within its North American headquarters facility in Twinsburg, Ohio. The move will result in the creation of approximately 40 new jobs, adding to the nearly 200 currently employed at the Twinsburg facility. Set to open this year, the Hitachi Healthcare Innovation Center of Excellence will leverage advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning to bring about a new generation of imaging technology.
“Being in the heart of a health care mecca with such prestigious facilities and educational institutions is the perfect location for us to develop innovative technologies and leverage the local knowledge and talent in Northeastern Ohio,” says Yasuhiko Taniguchi, CEO for Hitachi Healthcare Americas.
Hitachi Healthcare Americas currently sells and supports medical imaging devices – including MRI, CT and ultrasound – at its Northeast Ohio facility. The creation of the R&D center will allow the Hitachi team to expand its scientific and engineering teams and more closely collaborate with industry key opinion leaders. When it opens, the facility will be Hitachi Healthcare Americas’ only health care R&D facility outside of Japan. In December, Hitachi Healthcare Americas announced that
its healthcare division would be transferred to FUJIFILM later this year, but that move is not expected to impact the company’s presence in Northeast Ohio.
BioEnterprise, the nonprofit accelerator that works to build Cleveland’s health care industry, collaborated with partners JobsOhio and Team NEO to help encourage Hitachi’s further investment in Northeast Ohio.
Recognizing the value and impact of the new Innovation Center of Excellence, JobsOhio awarded Hitachi Healthcare Americas a Research & Development Grant that the company will spend on new prototyping equipment, software platforms and facility upgrades. Over the last 18 months, JobsOhio – in coordination with BioEnterprise and Team NEO – facilitated projects that attracted nearly 700 new jobs in Northeast Ohio, totaling close to $44 million in new payroll and $55 million in new capital expenditures committed.
“Hitachi Healthcare’s new R&D Center will be its first in North America and builds on Cleveland’s global reputation as a medical imaging hub,” said J.P. Nauseef, JobsOhio president and chief investment officer. “This R&D investment further demonstrates Hitachi Healthcare’s commitment to design and build the next generation of medical devices, software and solutions to help improve the quality of care in Northeast Ohio.” •
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MRI & CT PartsMRI & CT Services Knowledge.Experience.Integrity. < /ŚĞůƉƐLJŽƵĚĞůŝǀĞƌDZ/ĂŶĚd/ŵĂŐŝŶŐ^ĞƌǀŝĐĞƐƚŽLJŽƵƌƉĂƚŝĞŶƚƐ͘ tŝƚŚŽƵƌƚĞĂŵŽĨƐĞƌǀŝĐĞĞŶŐŝŶĞĞƌƐĂŶĚŝŶǀĞŶƚŽƌLJƐƉĞĐŝĂůŝƐƚƐ ͕< /ŝƐLJŽƵƌWŚŝůŝƉƐƌĞƐŽƵƌĐĞ ĨŽƌƐLJƐƚĞŵƉĂƌƚƐĂŶĚĨŝĞůĚƐĞƌǀŝĐĞ͘< /ƌĞĂĐŚĞƐĞǀĞƌLJƚŝŵĞnjŽŶĞĂŶĚǁŽƌŬƐƚŽŵŝŶŝŵŝnjĞ ĚŽǁŶƚŝŵĞĂŶĚĐŽƐƚůLJĚŝƐƌƵƉƚŝŽŶƐƚŽLJŽƵƌǁŽƌŬĨůŽǁ͘ WĂƌƚŶĞƌǁŝƚŚ < /͕ĐĂůůƚŽĚĂLJ͘ keimedicalimaging.com Tel: 512.477.1500 Email: info@keimedicalimaging.com Member of IAMERs MRI & CT PartsMRI & CT Services Member of IAMERS CONQUEST IMAGING EXPANDS SIMPLIFY PROGRAM Conquest Imaging has announced the expansion of SIMPLIFY, Conquest Imaging’s transducer repair program, featuring added TEE probe repair capabilities, flat rate repair pricing and a mobile probe testing program. The entire SIMPLIFY program is overseen by Vice President of Technical Operations Bob Broschart, a 30-year veteran in the ultrasound industry.
Conquest Imaging, in addition to 3D/4D and standard probe repair, added many transesophageal (TEE) models to its repair capabilities list including: • Philips X7-2T • Philips X8-2T • GE 6T • GE 6VT-D • Siemens V5MS SIMPLIFY’s flat rate repair pricing enables sameday repair ordering. With the upfront pricing for minor, major and enhanced repairs, customers can provide payment and receive a return authorization the same day and their exchange or loaner probe the following business day.
“Our onsite mobile probe testing is a revolutionary way of providing true probe management as a service to our customers that will save them tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars in their probe spend,” Broschart said. “We go in, evaluate their entire probe inventory and assess the state of each probe. Then, we begin planning and educating our customer on probe safety, wear-and-tear and why it matters. We partner with them to raise the quality of their inventory and reduce incidents, damage and replacements through better probe care.”
The program includes periodic onsite evaluations and assessments, free training and repair scheduling. As a result, contract customers will experience significant probe spend savings while extending the life of each probe.
“This enhancement of probe repair options and services is part of Conquest Imaging’s ongoing effort to strategically improve and expand ultrasound offerings, increasing the level of efficiency, excellence and savings to health care facilities and systems. SIMPLIFY continues to deliver free probe evaluations, exchanges, loaners and straight repairs,” according to a press release. •
ACCUMEN’S 3DR LABS PARTNERS WITH RESONANCE HEALTH Accumen Inc. has announced that its 3DR Labs LLC company is partnering with Resonance Health Limited to provide FerriSmart magnetic resonance imaging-based liver iron concentration reports for its clients.
FerriSmart uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images and deliver a liver iron quantification result within seconds. This technology allows liver iron concentrations to be monitored effectively and efficiently for individuals with confirmed or suspected systemic iron overload, patients with thalassemia or sickle cell anemia who require regular blood transfusions, and recipients of artificial heart valves who may experience an increase in systemic iron levels over time.
“We are excited to partner with Resonance Health to provide our clients with this additional resource for mining valuable diagnostic data from their MRI images,” said Accumen President and CEO Jeff Osborne. “3DR is already working with 900 hospitals in the United States, creating three-dimensional images from their MRI and computed tomography scans. We consider FerriSmart Reports to be a natural extension to the comprehensive MRI analysis services that we already offer to our 3DR clients.”
“We are delighted to partner with 3DR Laboratories and significantly increase the number of patients who can benefit from our non-invasive, MRI-based FerriSmart technology. This important liver iron concentration information can provide invaluable insights and help to guide their treatment options,” said Resonance Health CEO Alison Laws.
“Iron deposition disorders, such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia, are a significant health problem not only in the U.S. but worldwide. 3DR is thrilled to partner with Resonance Health in delivering a safer, easier and less expensive AI-based technology to help care for these patients,” said 3DR Labs Chief Medical Officer Robert L Falk, MD.
Resonance Health has received 510(k) clearance for FerriSmart from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a CE mark from the European Medicines Agency, and regulatory clearance from the Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia. •
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INTRODUCING Kelly Pray Kelly Pray is the enterprise change management lead at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles in California, as well as one of the writers for ICE magazine’s human resources column titled “Rad HR.” Kelly has a bachelor’s degree in political development and health from the University of California. She earned a master’s degree in health administration from
the University of North Florida. Her background is in health care administration with a heavy focus on implementation science, and her certifications include Posci Change Practitioner and Prosci Train-the-Trainer. Kelly is responsible for building out change management as an organizational competency in order to ensure adoption and usage across enterprise initiatives. As a native Californian, she enjoys giving back to her local community and spending as much time outdoors as possible throughout the year. In her free time, Kelly is an indoor cycling instructor at Cyclebar in Los Angeles!
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