Today at RSNA 2011, GE Healthcare (NYSE: GE) 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 Healthcare's Dexus technology, built on the trusted AW platform.
“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”
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 radiologist's 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 Healthcare's 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."
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