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Agfa Healthcare
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Agfa HealthCare has recently launched its DX-D 40 digital detector with Automatic Exposure Detection (AED), offering a fast and easy way for radiography facilities to benefit from high-quality digital imaging using any X-ray equipment. Wireless and cable-free, it allows healthcare facilities, regardless of size or budget, to cost-effectively upgrade film and CR mobile X-ray units to Digital Radiography (DR). With a worldwide installed base of close to 50,000 digital radiography systems already, Agfa HealthCare is again lowering the threshold to go digital.
The digitization of medical imaging at hospitals has come a long way since the early picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) of the 1990s, according to Eric Rice, chief technology officer for Mach7 Technologies. With more institutions investing in electronic medical records (EMR) and Meaningful Use criteria driving the push toward even better management and storage of patient images, the enterprise imaging strategy has evolved into a vital necessity for many healthcare organizations. This involves the handling of images not only across certain departments, but also across entire hospitals and healthcare networks. The value of developing an enterprise imaging strategy is inherent to any organization, said Rice, whether they are in the process of implementing their EMR platform or looking for ways to optimize it.
September 25, 2014 — Agfa HealthCare announced Summa Health System selected the company’s digital radiography (DR) technologies, including the DX-D Retrofit and DX-D 100 mobile DR systems, DX-M multi-plate CR and CR 30-X single plate tabletop CR (computed radiography), in combination with an upgrade of Agfa HealthCare’s patented Musica image processing software through the Digital Radiography Upgrade Program.
August 12, 2014 — Agfa HealthCare announced the North American launch of its DX-D Mobile Retrofit solution that will allow hospitals an easy and affordable way to upgrade existing GE AMX 4 and 4 plus mobile X-ray systems to digital radiography (DR).
As research and development continues to reveal the benefits of medical imaging in healthcare, vendors are steadily improving imaging scanners for added efficiency and workflow. Because advanced visualization technologies are a part of the larger medical imaging discussion, these products are also evolving and growing in response to innovation within medical imaging.
Extending the "Evolution of Visual Healthcare" to mobile devices, Agfa HealthCare launched its new Web-enabled mobile image management technology that brings the power of ICIS to iPhones, iPads, Web and Android mobile digital devices.
Imaging is critical to all medical specialties so it is logical that images should be available to specialists outside of radiology. There is a trend to reduce repeat exams by making images more easily accessible, including prior exams. This traditionally has been accomplished using the cumbersome process of mailing or physically carrying CDs to referring physicians. Often these CDs do not open or take a long time to download. Stage 2 Meaningful Use requirements for certified electronic medical records (EMR) also call for the sharing of medical images electronically to help improve efficiency and reduce healthcare costs. All of these factors have given rise to remote image access systems.
Today’s digital picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) is highlighted with several choice words around the industry: accessible, flexible, Web-based, thin client versus thick client and vendor-neutral. Whatever term is used to describe the PACS of today and the future, one thing is clear: the aim now is to be able to store medical images, sourced from any modality, in a secure location on a network and retrieve them for review from any platform or any device.
As Greenville’s only 24-hour Level 1 Trauma Center, Greenville Health System, based in Greenville, S.C., has recently upgraded its offering into “a highly integrated delivery system committed to transforming the delivery of health care and improving the health of its community.” A key part of that commitment is, wherever possible, to harness the power of new technologies and solutions that will help deliver on that promise. Agfa HealthCare's DX-D Retrofit’s non-invasive, connection-only solution is part of that drive; delivering time savings and a high level of image quality and speed that makes it popular with users.