X-ray upgrade for Kilmarnock hospital

Published: 27-Mar-2018

Unique combination of patient-friendly features for new radiology room at University Hospital Crosshouse

Fujifilm’s FDR Visionary Suite technology has been chosen by University Hospital Crosshouse in Kilmarnock for its new X-ray room.

Lisa Marley, superintendent radiographer, said it was chosen for its patient-friendly features, including a plastic ‘guard’ on the table that prevents a patient’s fingers being trapped when it is moved.

“The real stand-out feature which has been of great value for us was the three-detector configuration,” she added.

The FDR Visionary Suite has three detectors as standard, whereas other manufacturers could only offer a third detector at an additional cost.

“Because the wireless detectors charge in the buckys we never need to remove a detector from the upright or table bucky to perform an examination such as an AP chest X-ray,” said Marley.

“This means the risk of any accidental damage to a detector is significantly minimised and it also reduces the amount of manual handling for the radiographers.

She added: “The image stitching feature we selected has also reaped significant benefits. Imaging time for our long-leg and scoliosis patients has been significantly reduced compared to the previous CR system that was time consuming for both patients and radiographers.

We are now able to image a long bone in one exposure, for example a full-length femur with hip revision prosthesis, a feature which is also appreciated by our orthopaedic surgeons.”

And the Virtual Grid software is already delivering dose benefits for patients, too.

Marley said: “We are currently performing an audit to assess dose in pelvis and abdomen examinations where we would have previously used a stationary grid, and we expect the results to show a combination of improved image quality and reduced dose.

“The installation of the equipment was quite a painless process, even though we chose to relocate the upright bucky to the opposite side of the Xrray room. “

The hospital has now selected Fujifilm for the imminent refurbishment of two A&E X-ray rooms.

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