Royal Vic installs mobile digital radiography systems

BARRIE, Ont. – Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre has installed three CARESTREAM DRX-Revolution Mobile X-ray Systems to help care for patients in the emergency department (ED), intensive care unit (ICU), and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

This installation was part of a technology upgrade designed to help improve care for critically ill patients. The 319-bed facility is north of Toronto and provides advanced treatment for patients in several counties.

“The DRX-Revolution systems deliver high-resolution images that can help our physicians quickly and accurately assess and treat acute care patients. We are extremely pleased with the design and performance of these systems,” said Dr. Scott Good, the hospital’s medical director of imaging services.

Rapid image access is another compelling advantage. “Being able to view X-ray images in seconds equips physicians to make immediate patient care decisions,” said David Wilson, the hospital’s manager of imaging services. “In addition, converting to DR technology has helped reduce exposure rates by 30 to 40 percent, which is especially important for urgent care patients since they are often imaged frequently to track the status of their condition.”

Carestream’s software provides a companion image that delivers optimized visualization of tubes and lines. “Physicians use these images to help position tubes and lines for seriously ill or injured patients. Because the companion image is created from the initial image, we do not need to capture multiple X-ray exams of our patients,” Wilson explains.

The hospital has three CARESTREAM DRX-1 detectors and a 25 x 30 cm CARESTREAM DRX 2530C detector. “The small-format detector fits into incubator trays so we can image these fragile babies without moving them. We also use the DRX 2530C detector for large patients because its handle makes positioning easier for our technologists,” Wilson notes.

Prior to purchasing the imaging systems, staff members conducted an extensive evaluation process that involved a vendor fair with product demonstrations from seven companies. Technologists and imaging managers ranked the systems and the top three vendors were selected for two weeks of onsite evaluation.

“Our staff agreed that the DRX-Revolution platform outperformed the other systems. It’s easy to use and offers advanced features that expedite and enhance the imaging process,” Wilson adds. “It also communicates easily with our RIS to obtain patient worklists and with our PACS to expedite reporting.”

About Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre

RVH is a regional health centre in Barrie, Ontario, located 80 kilometres north of Toronto. As the largest hospital in the region of Simcoe and Muskoka, RVH’s team of over 350 physicians, 2,500 employees and 850 volunteers provides exceptional care and specialty services to almost half a million residents, including cancer care, stroke services, orthopedics, intensive care, mental health and interventional radiology. RVH is focused on delivering safe, high quality care that puts patients and their families first. For more information visit www.rvh.on.ca.

About Carestream Health

Carestream is a worldwide provider of dental and medical imaging systems and IT solutions; X-ray imaging systems for non-destructive testing; and advanced materials for the precision films and electronics markets – all backed by a global service and support network. For more information about the company’s broad portfolio of products, solutions and services, please contact your Carestream representative or call 888-777-2072, or visit www.carestream.com. To view Carestream’s latest news announcements, please visit www.carestream.comnews.