Radiation Dose Tracking and Reporting System Sees Expanding Adoption

June 6, 2013 — Many providers, and even consumers, are now aware of low-dose technologies, such as computed tomography (CT) systems that enable high-quality images with low radiation. Today, a growing number of hospitals are also adopting monitoring technology that takes dose management to the next level.

GE Healthcare offers DoseWatch, a radiation dose-tracking and reporting solution that can help facilities analyze patient exposure levels over time to ensure “as low as reasonably achievable radiation” use, or the ALARA principle.

Harnett Health in Dunn, N.C. and Nash General Hospital in Rocky Mount, N.C., recently announced adoption of DoseWatch. Harnett Health is a private, nonprofit system and includes Betsy Johnson Hospital, a 101-bed hospital, and Central Harnett Hospital, a new 50-bed facility with plans to expand in the future. Nash General Hospital is a 280-bed acute care facility.

Each site will use data captured by DoseWatch to identify outliers in radiation dose in imaging procedures in order to standardize and optimize protocols. Harnett Health and Nash join a growing numbers of hospitals adopting DoseWatch in the United States, and are helping to pioneer dose optimization and low-dose imaging.

DoseWatch enables healthcare providers to track and evaluate dose levels on radiation emitting diagnostic and screening procedures. Providers can generate statistical analyses based on device, operator or protocol. By identifying areas of variation, hospitals can change how dose is administered to maximize effective, and safe, diagnostic imaging.

GE experts will leverage data from DoseWatch for use in best practices training to help clinical staff at Harnett Health, Nash and other hospitals to further optimize dose organization-wide. DoseWatch supplements existing dose awareness technologies and can be used with equipment from various vendors.

DoseWatch is part of the GE Blueprint for low dose, a comprehensive program that helps healthcare providers integrate CT technologies, education and process improvements, and data analysis to reduce patient radiation dose from Computed Tomography (CT) by up to 50 percent. 

Harnett Health and Nash General join more than 100 installations of DoseWatch around the globe to date. 

For more information: www.gehealthcare.com/en