Transcript Presentation

Progress of Digital
Radiology in Latvia
Baltic IT&T 2005
Diagnostic Radiology
• Diagnostic modalities include
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radiography
computed tomography (CT)
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
ultrasound (US)
nuclear medicine
• Each of these modalities has strengths and limitations
which dictate use of different technical solutions
migrating towards digital radiology
Computers and Networking for
Radiology
• Hospital information system (HIS) tracks the patient
throughout the hospital stay and is text based
• Radiology information system (RIS) tracks the examination
through the department of radiology and is also text based
• Picture archiving and communication system (PACS)
contains all the image-based information in the department of
radiology.
• Information systems use protocols to transfer data:
– Health Level 7 (HL-7) is a text-based information protocol typically
used by the HIS and RIS.
– The Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM)
standard is an image-based information protocol typically used by PACS
and digital imaging modalities.
Digital Imaging for Hospital
Hospital wards
Hospital wards
Workstations
Workstations
Department of Radiology
Hospital wards
Workstations
Servers
Intensive Care Unit
Hospital wards
Outpatient Clinic
Workstations
Workstations
Workstations
Digital Radiography Operation
Radiology - Today
Radiology - Digital (Full Field Digital Detector)
Main advantages of Digital
Radiology
• Information can be shared with multiple users at
the same time regardless their location
– Flexible scheduling of work for radiologists
– Fast delivery of results of examinations
– Fast and broad availability of results of past
examinations
– Decreased number of rejected films and unnecessary
repeated examinations
Components of Digital Radiology in
Latvia at present time
• Hardware equipment with DICOMM interfaces
and necessary software installed
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Digital X-Ray – 3 and 5 more are planned
US - unknown
CT – 32
MRI – 3
Preconditions for Digital
Imaging
• Medical and technical professionals skilled and
fluent not only in medicine but also in
information and communication technologies
• Availability of computers, software and network
for every medical professionals
• Availability of digital radiological equipment
• Willingness to cooperate between different
medical institutions at local, regional, national
and international scale
Components of Digital Radiology in
Latvia at present time
• Software and workstations for radiologists
• Software and workstations for doctors
• Picture archiving and communication system
(PACS)
• Storage capacity for imaging
– approximately 50 MB per examination
– 500 GB per 100 000 examinations
• High speed networking
Main Obstacles Towards Digital
Radiology
• Computer skills can be learnt, fluency comes
only with time and practice
• Digital radiology is more expensive than
analogue and much more expensive than
radiology in Latvia today. But that’s the
radiology of today!
• The whole mindset of medical professionals
(administrative, medical, technical) has to be
changed
Application of Digital Radiology
Problem 1: Today doctors in small hospitals are
reluctant to send patients to regional medical
centres therefore they loose professional
experience
Solution : Digital Radiology can help to increase
level of cooperation, knowledge and experience
sharing between doctors
Application of Digital Radiology
Problem 2: Lack of radiologists and radiology
assistants (almost no technical personal in
hospitals)
Solution : Digital Radiology can help to optimize
the use of available human resources by flexible
distribution of medical examinations for
analyses by network of digital imaging
Application of Digital Radiology
Problem 3: Steep increase of number of
examinations
Solution : Digital Radiology can help to organize
network of digital equipment to increase the
capacity of radiology department
Application of Digital Radiology
Problem 4: Shortage of financial resources
available
Solution : Digital Radiology is expensive, but high
capacity regional centres can keep costs per
examination at reasonable levels
What happens today?
• Radiology become much more expensive these days:
– minimization of patients exposure to x-rays,
– dose accounting,
– new standards of examinations change requirements for
equipment being used and its service levels
– migration of professionals staff towards professions with
higher salaries
• Radiology will become extinct in small hospitals during
next few years
Where that leads?
• Load of examinations will radically increase in
regional and local hospitals
• Delayed examinations will decrease the quality
of treatment
• State financed programs will be used and
abused, but medical services will become more
expensive and the availability of examinations
will decreased
Coordinated Migration or
(R)evolution?
• We can keep waiting for problems to accumulate
and then avalanche of the problems
• Coordinated action at national level:
– Increase necessary skills for administrative, medical
and technical professionals involved, include the
digital radiology in education programs
– Include the digital radiology in structural plan for
healhtcare
Thank You for Your attention!