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Sectra is now launching Sectra Image Lab — a platform that offers healthcare providers with straightforward access to medical image analysis as a service. The recently signed partner, Riverain Technologies, will offer its lung disease detection software via Sectra’s platform.
This paper discusses why radiation exposure in medical imaging is such a hot topic, how a dose management solution can help healthcare organizations to lower dose levels and the important features of such a solution.
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.
Better management of X-ray radiation doses starts with recording and tracking each exposure patients receive. Dose tracking has come to the forefront of medicine in recent years with the realization that medical imaging has doubled the public’s exposure to ionizing radiation since the 1980s, largely due to the rapid expansion of computed tomography (CT) and minimally invasive angiography procedures.
At HIMSS 2014, Sectra exhibited updates in PACS and imaging workflow. Adar Palis, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Harrison Medical Center, will present Northwest ImageShare. The collaboration between competitors that enables economies-of-scale pricing, system standardization for physicians and improved patient care was presented at HIMSS, Feb. 27.
Better management of X-ray radiation doses starts with recording and tracking each exposure patients receive. Dose tracking has come to the forefront of medicine in recent years with the realization that medical imaging has doubled the public’s exposure to ionizing radiation since the 1980s, largely due to the rapid expansion of computed tomography (CT) and minimally invasive procedures guided by angiography.
Radiation dose continues to rise as the number of computed tomography (CT), nuclear, angiography and fluoroscopy examinations grow, leading to a greater risk of patient overexposure to radiation. Healthcare providers must reinforce their efforts to monitor and visualize dose levels from radiology examinations to enhance patient safety and meet new regulatory demands. There also is a need to justify and optimize the usage of radiation dose to find a balance between safer practice, image quality and lower dose — all for the benefit of the patient. Implementing tools for automatic and continuous follow up of radiation dose is at the forefront of meeting these challenges.
Physicians have used radiation in medicine for more than a century. The use of radiation in diagnostic imaging, including computed tomography (CT), fluoroscopy, angiography, mammography, computed radiography (CR) and digital radiography (DR), as well as in nuclear medicine, has aided greatly in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other diseases.
The significant increase in radiation exposure and uncertainty regarding the risk of cancer have raised concerns leading to a recent change of direction within medical imaging. Several initiatives to lower dose levels are being established and many healthcare providers have initiated dose reduction programs to guard patient safety and to comply with new regulations.