Top Medical Imaging News of 2009

Last Updated on Thursday, 2 December 2010 02:07 Written by admin Friday, 12 February 2010 05:26

Many medical offices and clinics are making the switch to teleradiology, whereby digital x-ray images are used in digital dicom format and can be transmitted over the Internet. As with all types of computer technology, advancements occur often, and 2009 was no exception. The following are a few of the highlights of news concerning medical imaging from last year.

The iPhone has taken the world by storm, and teleradiology appears to have made an impact with this device as well. From a study performed at the University of Virginia, it was shown that iPhones could be used with a mobile digital x-ray viewer to diagnose appendicitis. Interestingly, the study related that CT images in the same resolution in which they were captured initially from the modality were also seen by the iPhone in the same resolution.1

In a discussion held by author Mark Hagland with information technology and medical experts, the ideas of what is needed and how that will impact teleradiology were discussed. Software systems used in medical environments will need to offer multiple layers of usefulness for all of the different departments that use it. Everyone using the program wants optimized workflow, but with that comes security issues and even business issues, when multiple facilities use the same software for different purposes, and so software designers have a challenging job of creating programs that will work for everyone.2 It will be interesting to see what the future holds in terms of new software applicable for digital radiography environments.

The December 2009 issue of Diagnostic Imaging reports that Carestream Health is working on a PACS improvement that will utilize a unified global work list to accomplish cross-site reading. The upgrade offers enhancements such as the ability to add content to reports directly through voice commands or one mouse click, and an existing patient portfolio will, after the optimization, be able to display both dicom and non-dicom imported data.3

RIS programs have also received a new look from Swearingen Software. Their new RISynergy Web software enables medical personnel to use the web to remotely schedule patient procedures, as well as receive, edit and approve test results online.4

Much more in the progressive field of digital radiography is to come in 2010.

1. http://www.gvpub.com/rtblog/?p=357
2. http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=63163CE5901A4CB79222387325054E18&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=C8375DC8E424464191DA5850D736C91C
3. http://www.diagnosticimaging.com/imaging-trends-advances/pacsweb/pacs/article/113619/1492383
4. http://www.healthimaging.com/index.php?option=com_articles&view=article&id=19525:swearingen-releases-updated-ris-suite

What Functions to Look For in a Mammography Viewer

Last Updated on Thursday, 2 December 2010 02:01 Written by admin Friday, 15 January 2010 06:21

If you manage a mammography imaging center, you understand that the bottom line is dependent on quick, accurate turnover of good quality digital images. One way to make sure that your center does not lose money is to invest in a mammography viewer that makes use of teleradiology.

Doing More With Less

Due to the nature of the profit-driven health care system in the U.S. and the incredible expenses and debt burden incurred by medical students, fewer and fewer doctors are going into less well-paying specialties such as radiology; while the demand for qualified radiologists is increasing by approximately 15% a year, the annual number of such specialists is growing by only 2% .

Teleradiology is simply the ability to send medical images to remote locations over the World Wide Web. Through teleradiology, a mammography imaging center can transfer such images to any other clinic in the world.

In addition, teleradiology capability will allow multiple viewers to study an image at the same time, facilitating consultation and faster, more accurate diagnoses.

Another benefit of teleradiology is that it enables the clinic to easily archive images in a remote location, making backup and disaster recovery much easier should the unthinkable happen.

Is It Customizable?

Another feature one should consider in a mammography viewer is the ability of the user(s) to customize its image retrieval functions. Every center has different needs and methods; when images can be searched and retrieved based on user-defined parameters, the result is a more efficient workflow and faster turnaround time.

User-Friendly?

It goes without saying that a mammography viewer that is easy to use will result in cost savings. A more complex system may run faster, but if it is necessary for staff to spend an inordinate amount of time dealing with a steep learning curve, it will cause cost more in the long run.

The Impact of Internet Teleradiology on Healthcare

Last Updated on Friday, 19 November 2010 12:23 Written by admin Saturday, 2 January 2009 03:49

Although no reasonable person wants to put a price tag on human life, the fact is that cost is the major issue surrounding health care in the U.S. today. While most of this is due to the privatized, profit-driven nature of the U.S. system of health care, part of it is in fact a function of supply and demand, particularly as the number of patients requiring medical services increase and the more and more medical school graduates, burdened with half a million dollars in student loan debt choose high-paying specialties over primary care.

Teleradiology is made possible by today’s Internet technologies, and promises to reduce costs by making better use of resources.

What Is Teleradiology?

Simply defined, teleradiology is the transmission of medical images over the World Wide Web and Local Area Networks. This allows for consultation with qualified radiologists in remote locations, allowing them to provide services without having to be on-site with the patient. It is also vital for hospitals and clinics in smaller, under-served communities who need the services of rare specialists such as neuropathology, pediatric medicine and osteology during off-hours, making it an excellent tool for telemammography.

How It Works

In the early days, teleradiology was quite limited, depending on telephone lines for transmission. With the event of high-speed Internet service and fiber-optic cable, hundreds of large images can be sent virtually instantaneously. Image-compression software make this even more efficient, while new security technologies such as voice-recognition and 128-bit encryption insures that such images are delivered only to those medical professionals authorized to receive and view them.

VRN