February 16, 2012 — Etiam, the medical image connectivity company, introduce Etiam-Connect, a unique turnkey system for communicating and managing images beyond the enterprise, whether in hard copy, CD or electronic format, at the HIMSS12 conference. Seamlessly integrating external images into the internal workflow, Etiam-Connect automatically identifies exam type, directs information to the appropriate department, enables viewing any image format and reconciles patient data with in-house identifiers. The new offering also supports all imaging-related data, including documents, forms and reports. It enables more effective, efficient and cost-effective care of any patient with existing external exams and puts all images, whatever their original source and format, to use.
To use the system, patient films are scanned and CDs copied into the Etiam-Connect solution. Electronic files are transferred ultra-securely and efficiently using innovative technology that bypasses the IT cloud, where privacy can be easily compromised. Whether for trauma, stroke or emergency department (ED) transfer, for second opinions or for specialized care, Etiam-Connect accepts patient images and transmits them to the relevant department or directly to the picture archive and communications system (PACS), if desired.
According to Emmanuel Cordonnier, Etiam CEO and co-founder, a major benefit of Etiam-Connect is that it brings order to the thousands of CDs that enter many facilities every day. “CD management is a growing problem in many hospitals where external discs are often managed haphazardly and remain restricted to a specific department,” he said. “Additionally, a significant number of exam CDs are in file formats incompatible with a facility’s image viewing technology or are simply unreadable. This results in exam retakes, exposing the patient to unneeded radiation and the medical system to unnecessary expense.”
Cordonnier notes that Etiam-Connect creates an organized digital exam management system similar to a PACS that allows outside images to be saved to a temporary archive and routed efficiently to the point-of-care. Stroke patient images, for example, are immediately transmitted to the correct specialist, while oncology second opinion cases are entered on the appropriate radiologist’s worklist for review at a later date. The system supports broad-based enterprise web access and distribution. It also creates and manages worklists of external images earmarked for permanent storage to a PACS. However, if patients are not treated at the facility, their images can be eliminated easily from temporary storage.
By contrast, most other image sharing systems typically handle only electronic images, not CDs or film, and transmit them on a point-to-point basis. Most also utilize cloud image storage and provide a viewer restricted to the system.
Etiam’s new solution provides all users with a universal digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) viewer to display images from a full range of vendors. It also supports non-DICOM studies from Amicas and iSite solutions.
In developing Etiam-Connect, Etiam draws on the successful track record of its Secure Medical Networking (SMN) image management technology, with more than three years of use at more than 120 hospitals worldwide, while other vendors are just entering the market with new products and new technologies.
For more information: www.etiam.com
April 03, 2024 
