Springfield Hospital Goes Digital with Carestream

HEMEL HEMPSTEAD May 3—Ramsay Health Care UK has installed a Carestream DRX Evolution Plus General X-ray room with dual 35x43 wireless shared detectors at its Springfield Hospital site, on the outskirts of Chelmsford in Essex. The 64-bed unit, which opened in 1987, focuses mainly on elective surgery including orthopaedics, spinal, general and cosmetic, pain management, endoscopy, urology, and gynaecology. It seeks to provide a first class service to patients through a programme of continuous development of, and investment in, its staff and facilities.

(L-R): Gary Dunnell, Jennie Daly, Phil Thompson, Pat Wray, Clare Lee, Wayne Sharpe (Senior Account Manager, Carestream Health UK), Jean Gammons and Dr Pearl Wou

Carestream was awarded the tender to supply Ramsay with digital radiology equipment in late summer 2016. Springfield is just one of several sites that the company is upgrading to use DR over the next few years. This new installation, which was completed in October 2016, will move the whole radiology department at Springfield over from analogue to DR. It will link them to the Carestream RIS / PACS solution that is already in place—and also currently being upgraded—allowing the hospital’s staff to take, share and store high-quality images quickly and efficiently within a single, coherent system.

The CARESTREAM DRX Evolution Plus offers a wireless, cassette-sized DRX Detector and EVP Plus image-processing software that together deliver superb image quality. Software options can accommodate specialties such as paediatrics and orthopaedics. Auto-positioning enables fast and accurate set up, with an automated overhead tube that is designed for positioning convenience and efficiency. The whole system can be customised to create a DR solution that fits a facility’s present workflow and budget and can be adapted as that facility expands or its requirements change. One space-saving console controls all medical imaging functions, with images ready for viewing and manipulation on the console in seconds.

Phil Thompson, Radiology Service Manager for Ramsay Health Care at Springfield Hospital says ‘The improved image quality that accompanies DR technology has had a major impact, as had the speed of image review. We’re particularly pleased that the new system’s automatic tube and detector positioning have reduced the amount of manual handling that staff have to do. It’s also great for patients visiting the department, who benefit from lower radiation doses and faster throughput times.’

Springfield Hospital has also purchased a Long Length Imaging System for use in the DR room, a digital Mobile Retrofit kit for an existing analogue mobile unit and a CARESTREAM DR8100 OPG. The OPG unit has allowed the hospital to enter more fully into the world of DR and move away completely from using less efficient CR-based systems.