CHICAGO–(BUSINESS
WIRE)–Today at RSNA 2011, GE Healthcare announced a leap forward in
radiology department workflow with an interoperable suite of advanced
visualization and image management applications. Using these tools,
radiologists are empowered with access to the extensive portfolio of GE
Healthcare AW 3D clinical applications across cardiovascular, neurology,
internal medicine and oncology specialties all from the Centricity* PACS
desktop. The solution leverages GE Healthcares Dexus* technology, built on the
trusted AW platform.
Until now, radiology department access to 3D analysis often
lagged because it required radiologists to interrupt their established workflow
to access the separate, but necessary, advanced visualization workstation.
“When access was cumbersome and required an interruption in workflow, there was
a natural reluctance on the part of the radiologist to use 3D image analysis.
Frankly, productivity would decrease,” said Dr. William Shuman, Director of
Radiology at University of Washington Medical Center (Seattle). “Now, with AW
Server, we can perform 3D analysis directly on the PACS, on more patient cases,
due to the increase in speed of access and performance, which impacts the
quality of patient care. In our facility, we estimate that in approximately 10
to 15 percent of high-tech imaging cases, 3D analysis will improve or change the
diagnosis.”
As a high-performance platform that stores one of every five
digital exams in the United
States, Centricity PACS has been proven to
raise radiologist productivity, enhance image interpretation and enable business
growth. Thin client technology is also provided to enable remote diagnostics at
work, at home or “on the go.” When deployed in VMware environments, Centricity
PACS has a reduced environmental impact and takes up minimal space.
“Our investment in Centricity PACS continues to grow, as
radiologists use a range of advanced clinical applications without interrupting
their workflow,” said Don Woodlock, Vice President and General Manager of GE
Healthcare IT.
Enabled by the trusted GE AW platform, Dexus is a seamless
workflow environment that optimizes a radiologists reading experience, from
the moment of image acquisition through result reporting. Dexus links imaging
devices, clinical applications and IT, so radiologists can access advanced
visualization tools across modalities and care areas from wherever they are.
Centricity PACS combined with 3D advanced visualization from AW Server
underscores the concept of “IT Simplicity.” In addition to the workflow
benefits it delivers to radiology departments, IT staff can be relieved of the
burden of having to maintain duplicate interfaces and sets of infrastructure.
“Our Dexus workflow technology helps our customers save time
to deliver better patient care,” said Jennifer Dible, General Manager of GE
Healthcares AW business unit. “Since we introduced automated case preparation
five years ago, our customers saved minutes on cardiac and vascular patient
exams, and it has become an industry standard. Now, with the ability to access
AW advanced visualization directly from Centricity PACS, we expect them to save
even more time in their daily tasks.”
GE Healthcare at RSNA 2011
Each year in Chicago,
the conference of the Radiological Association of North America (RSNA) provides
a forum for showcasing the latest innovations in medical imaging. If you are
attending the conference, please visit GE Healthcare at McCormick Place South
Hall, Booth 3335.
ABOUT GE HEALTHCARE
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that
are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imaging
and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems,
drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance
improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver
better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we
partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change
necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems.
Our “healthymagination” vision for the future invites the
world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused
on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality around the world.
Headquartered in the United
Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a unit of General
Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employees are committed
to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100
countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.
Posted by Sean Fenske, Editor-in-Chief, MDT
