[caption id="attachment_2953" align="alignleft" width="142"] Glen Nicholson, Medical Sales, Carestream Canada[/caption] At the beginning of the year I posed an interesting question to Cheryl Malcolmson, RT (R), Manager, Diagnostic Imaging, Hamilton General Hospital, Hamilton, Canada: “Can I interest you in a test drive?” No, I wasn’t selling her a
Read More[caption id="attachment_2657" align="alignleft" width="97"] Helen Titus, Marketing Director, Digital Capture Solutions, Carestream[/caption] It’s an exciting and challenging time to be in the medical profession. Change is happening fast. New treatments. Competing reform priorities. Evolving technologies. Yet, a patient’s hopes, fears, and need for expert care remain constant—as
Read More[caption id="attachment_2657" align="alignleft" width="104"] Helen Titus, Marketing Director, Digital Capture Solutions, Carestream[/caption] Back in 2009, USA Today reported that “Each of the nation’s 5,700 hospitals must cut $2.6 million a year on average in costs in the next 10 years to meet the demands of President
Read More[caption id="attachment_2659" align="alignleft" width="122"] Helen Titus, Marketing Director, Digital Capture Solutions, Carestream[/caption] Creating exposure ranges for pediatric patients is an important goal—with action taking place on several fronts. Researchers from six children's hospitals in the U.S.are collaborating to build the first pediatric CT dose index registry.
Read MoreNorm Burgess is entering his 28th season of imaging professional football players. Today he’s Lead Radiology Technologist for the Dallas Cowboy’s home games--a dream opportunity for many rad tech sport fans. Burgess gives us a quick look into game time imaging of professional football players. Q:
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Boris Alvarez, project consultant, Medical Technology School, Universidad San Sebastián
Editor’s Note: Boris Alvarez, project consultant for Medical Technology School, Universidad San Sebastián , in Santiago Chile, shared his thoughts with us on the difference between public and private healthcare, digital x-ray technology and the importance of continuing education and networking.
Q: Having lived in both the United States and Chile, can you give us a snapshot of the differences you see in planned healthcare reforms?
In my opinion, healthcare reforms in both countries address the need to achieve better access to care, especially for those more vulnerable citizens.
On one hand, the USA has been the most important country in the development of technologies for the whole world. This is increasing healthcare costs by transferring research costs to American patients. The US government expects to use strategies that reduce healthcare prices for the population with fewer alternatives to pay for it.
In contrast, the Chilean government is addressing healthcare access through a framework that allows public and private investment to give access to better technology to the people who can not afford it.
I think the biggest challenges for healthcare institutions are in their capacity to adapt to the new scenario. In the American case, institutions must be able to fit their cost structure in order to be more competitive. In the Chilean case, institutions must follow the technologic vanguard, in spite of the limitations in budget of the Chilean market.
Gary Allbutt, visiting relief radiographer in North Dandenong, Victoria, Australia
Editor’s note: We sat down with Gary Allbutt, who is currently a visiting relief radiographer in Cath Labs, Angiography and General Radiography, in North Dandenong, Victoria, Australia. We asked him a few questions to get his thoughts on changes in radiology over the past 40 years, observed from his vast experience across commercial and regulatory roles as well as administration, training and other specialties.
Q: You’ve been involved in radiology for nearly forty years. What was radiology like when you embarked in this profession 38 years ago?
I entered Radiography in 1975 as a student in the Royal Melbourne Institute of Radiography (RMIT) three year course for “External Studies Students,” who were employed outside of metropolitan hospitals across Australia.
From day one, students undertook an apprenticeship, working side by side with experienced Radiographers, absorbing the culture and work practices. Logbooks listed required examinations and procedures to be observed and conducted with a progression through general radiography of extremities increasing in complexity to procedures such as Angiography, in the final year.
Modalities such as CT and Ultrasound had just started to appear. Early Angiography was undertaken by “Direct Stick” in Carotids and Trans–Lumbar Aortograms. The Seldinger Technique and selective catheterisation was just emerging overseas and major metropolitan departments here inAustralia. Manual cassette changers and rapid serial film changers acquired sequential images of the contrast bolus’ passage through the vessels.
Looking back the introduction of new technologies and techniques has been dazzling and un-abated. Take radiographic support in theatre for a hip pinning — radiographs from two mobile machines and manual film processing! The advent of Mobile Image Intensifiers made the guidance of internal fixations more accurate and reduced the patient’s time under anaesthetic.
Compound that now with the advent of hybrid theatres with systems supporting neuro surgeons, as well as vascular, orthopaedic and others. This is just one phenomenal area of growth let alone Ultrasound, 3D and Cone Beam technologies. From my early days in 1975 these developments would have been almost inconceivable.
Editor’s Note: Houston Healthcare in Warner Robins, Ga. recently installed six CARESTREAM DRX Systems to streamline image delivery. We asked Tim Sisco, Director of Cardiovascular and Imaging Services at Houston Healthcare, to talk about the impact converting from CR to DR systems has had on their dose reduction
Read More[caption id="attachment_2521" align="alignright" width="163"] Jeremy Enfinger, BS, RT(R), Radiology Lead Tech at Scripps Health[/caption] Editor's Note: We sat down with Jeremy Enfinger, BS, RT(R), Radiology Lead Tech at Scripps Health and Adjunct Radiography Instructor at San Diego Mesa College, to get his thoughts on the evolution of the radiography profession, digital
Read MoreAccording to the World Health Organization, two-thirds of the world lacks access to basic X-ray services. Because 60 percent of medical conditions seen in first-referral, primary care settings require X-ray to properly diagnose, the lack of X-ray capabilities hinders the delivery of effective, quality medical
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