A mix of hardware, software and services, the Hitachi Clinical Repository (HCR) system draws together all patient data from many information sources, thus providing quicker and better use of records. At Hitachi Data Systems, Mark Clark explained: ‘HCR basically provides the infrastructure to put together both clinical and non-clinical data into a centralised, non-proprietary-repository to…
The new cloud hovering over the IT industry bodes pleasant and sunny business weather. Reason enough for the organisers of CeBIT 2011, the large international IT event held in Hanover this March, to make ‘cloud computing’ the keynote theme, dubbed ‘Work and Life with the Cloud’. EH reporter Walter F Schäfer questions what cloud computing is and what promise it might hold for healthcare…
The global software provider TeraRecon is recognised for strong clinical applications containing advanced image processing and 3-D visualisation for CT, MRI and PET. Since May 2010, this Silicon Valley company (Frost & Sullivan’s 2010 ‘Company of the Year Award’ winner, for European Advanced Visualisation Applications) has been expanding its core business into cloud computing services…
To meet the high demands of today’s radiological environment, a PACS must provide far more than archiving, controlling and distribution of electronic data. Post processing and upgradable network structuring capabilities are just as important to guarantee efficient workflow. The Visage Thin Client looks like a smart solution indeed.
With 1,600 customers and a 30-40% market share in Germany, Austria, France and Switzerland, IT and imaging enterprise Agfa and its hospital-wide IT solution Orbis are ahead of the game. Dr Volker Wetekam, Executive Vice President of the IT Division, Agfa Healthcare, speaks of a technological advantage of as much as two to three years in the key segments -- PACS, cardiology and regional health --…
These are exciting times for Carestream. The former film supplier is morphing into a genuine IT provider. Since its incorporation in 2007, the company has been investing many resources in the development of its portfolio with products that include systems for medical and dental imaging, IT solutions, molecular imaging and digital X-ray as well as digital products for non-destructive testing.
Southampton University Hospitals’ Department of Laboratory Medicine has recently transformed the way it delivers its pathology service, becoming one of the largest automation installations in the National Health Service to operate under a managed service contract. This has contributed significantly to the development of a strengthened and expanded pathology network across Southern England.
In 1935, following the spectacular crash of the much-heralded Boeing B-17 bomber, it was concluded that the ‘modern plane was too much for one man to fly’. Similarly, given the complexity of modern healthcare, medicine is rarely a solo pursuit. In 1977, following the largest commercial aviation crash to date, flight investigators concluded the crew had ‘failed to take the time to become a…
The application of ergonomic principles can enhance product design and, more importantly, the usability of medical devices. Ideally the operation of the product is adaptable to the individual user’s preferences and to different workflows, for example when safe handling is ensured in routine as well as in emergency situations.
Whether it’s functional imaging via MRI or CT, dynamic angiography examinations or volume tomography -- new examination procedures deliver more, but also require more. The annual data increase in hospitals is 20-30% and the resulting requirements for the necessary storage capacity, or for digital data transfer, present a serious challenge. Accordingly, there is considerable interest in…
Smooth, flawlessly running reprocessing systems ensure regulatory hygiene standards as well as the constant availability of all endoscopes. To this end, along with the established Partnership and Complete Coverage Contracts for endoscopy, Olympus Deutschland GmbH has developed CDS Care and CDS Care+ Contracts and a Validation Service.
The Siemens sector Healthcare has developed the new consulting model “Act on Stroke”, tailored specifically to clinical workflows in the treatment of stroke. Following models for industry processes, an expert team from Siemens evaluates the maturity level of clinical processes in a hospital.
The project consortium Alarm has developed new software to enable a computer-assisted triage-system for mass accidents and catastrophes. Torsten Schröder, emergency physician at the Charité Clinic for Anaesthesiology, with the focus on operative Intensive Care Medicine in Berlin, gave a mid-term review of the project and explained the advantages of the IT-supported triage-system for…
How does a hospital decide what to do about in-house radiology if, for example, its consultant retires? Select a ‘new broom’ to brush out earlier practices, or make this an opportunity to redefine its radiology department’s services and objectives? In the latter case, outsourcing to receive diagnoses from an external radiologist might be potentially interesting. However, Dr Winfried…
An RFID transponder (also known as a tag) consists of a chip and tiny antenna. Thanks to their small size these transponders can be integrated into almost any object, including clothing, boxes or even sheets of paper. Thus the logistics industry numbers amongst the prolific areas of application for wireless frequency identification using RFID (radio frequency identification) technology.
One year after boldly launching a far-reaching programme for reforming France’s troubled hospitals a newly created French agency has surprised its detractors and created a way forward.
The new surgical wing at Knappschafts Hospital in Bottrop, Germany, has exceeded all expectations. In four years the concept has increased available operation times by over 30%. We asked the project supervisor, Dr Peter Hügler, who heads the Anaesthesia, Intensive Care Medicine and Pain Therapy Clinic, how such a significant success was realised.
The British government’s plans to introduce wider choice and shared decision making within the NHS may be challenging to implement, says an expert on bmj.com. In its new plans for the NHS, the government wants to extend the offer of choice beyond what is currently available to include choice of specialist team, choice of general practice, and choice of treatment. But do patients want a choice…
At a meeting hosted by Siemens at AACC 2010, an expert panel shared perspectives on IT in the clinical lab. Representatives from Henry Ford Hospital (Detroit, MI), Alegent Health (Omaha, NE) and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Centre (Baltimore, MD) spoke about the increasing importance of IT in helping today’s lab to meet the challenges of cost containment, quality of care, increasing workload,…
The aim of the predictive modelling systems being trialled in the UK are to identify which people in a given population are the most likely to be admitted to hospital in the next 12 months and then focus preventive measures on them to try to avoid hospital admission. Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), which commission hospital services in the UK, are favouring the model as they try to cut costs during a…
The accuracy and reliability of medical laboratory examination results are vital part in healthcare delivery, and these plus the effective operation of laboratories are the main goals of laboratory managers. To ensure a high quality operation, medical laboratories have quality management systems and, through laboratory accreditation, show their competence.
St Jude Medical Center, in Fullerton, California, has always taken pride in its reputation as one of Southern California’s most respected and technologically advanced hospitals. With 384 licensed beds and over 700 physicians the centre offers a comprehensive array of services and programmes, including cardiac, stroke care, a breast and cancer centres, full maternity services, orthopaedic…
Worthing Hospital, on the south coast of England, has installed a CARESTREAM DRX-Evolution dual detector room in its busy Accident & Emergency (A&E) department. The new modular system, with its cassette-sized wireless detector, floor rail and full auto positioning, replaces the existing analogue room.
Diabetes mellitus is a lingering disease – for a long time it causes subjectively few complaints or no complaints at all. Despite this, it is life-threatening – especially if undiagnosed, or diagnosed too late. However, although diabetes is the most widespread disease it is often only discovered by accident in a hospital, where many hospital doctors feel that diabetology is the responsibility…
Here’s a scenario: A bug has entered the system. Nobody knows how and what it is. What is clear is that, due to the problem with the imaging plate readout, the X-ray examination just carried out must be repeated. Who, in the hospital, is ultimately responsible for this situation?