2007 February

Health Imaging & IT talks to several organizations that are successfully using electronic records about how they got there.

From imaging studies that produce ever-increasing amounts of data tothe proliferation of email, storage needs continue to command attentionat healthcare facilities. Cost-effective solutions in a variety offormats with both onsite and offsite backup for disaster recoverystrategies all are on the table.

Healthcare facilities must utilize a multitude of security technologiesto mitigate any risks and ensure the integrity of their wirelessinfrastructure.

They may seem like part of the woodwork, but CD and DVD technologyremains a vital tool for any healthcare facility managing and needingto communicate large amounts of medical images and patient information.

CT angiography (CTA) represents a tremendous leap forward in diagnosticimaging. It, together with magnetic resonance angiography, isincreasingly becoming the diagnostic imaging solution of choice.Clinically relevant and workflow efficient results, however, hinge onsophisticated software as well as a state-of-the-art CT scanningsolution.

Wireless mobility is becoming more mainstream in healthcare settingssince portable computing offers a solution to better cope in today’sfast-paced healthcare environment. Case in point are two healthcareproviders that have deployed different models for handheld computersbut they share similar, critical features to mobile healthcare: acompact, lightweight design, a dependable battery life and adequatescreen size.

Last year, GE Healthcare introduced VolumeShare2, a new advancedvisualization and analysis toolkit for its Advantage Workstation (AW).This platform incorporates CardIQ Fusion, a new application that allowsphysicians to fuse CT and PET or SPECT imaging data on the AWworkstation. The application was awarded the Society of NuclearMedicine (SNM) annual 2006 Image of the Year.

Over the last decade, GE Healthcare’s Advantage Workstation (AW) hasproven its utility as a multi-modality post-processing powerhorse. GEextends the value of the workstation with a comprehensive softwareportfolio to the meet the needs of multiple modalities.

Advanced visualization has become an essential technology not only inradiology but across the enterprise. While radiology is the hub of 3Doperations, users across the enterprise need to access and view 3Dreconstructions. Critical users include surgeons, orthopedicspecialists and cardiologists.

Two years ago, St. Luke’s Hospital and Health Network in Bethlehem, Pa., was among the first adopters of the GECentricity PACS and Centricity AW Suite 2.0, and since then it has realsignificant benefits in terms of convenience, flexibility, efficiencyand workflow.

As we move from discrete interventions to care plans and cycles, fromsilos of data to an integrated team patient management approach tohealthcare, IT is the unifier of best practices and outcomes that meanbetter care at reduced cost.

Health Imaging & IT visits with several enterprise organizations to learn more about the challenges and benefits of enterprise image management.

Thin-client models and PACS integration can meet the clinical, workflow and economic needs of 3D users.

Functional MRI has begun the migration from the research lab to radiology departments with promising applications.

Oncology imaging IT offerings allow facilities to improve operations from going filmless to providing the latest in radiation therapy.

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