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Brest Regional University Hospital purchased a CARESTREAM DRX-Evolution as part of an ongoing campaign to improve the quality of emergency patient care.

Brest Regional University Hospital, the leading hospital in Western Brittany, France, has purchased a CARESTREAM DRX-Evolution as part of an ongoing campaign to improve the quality of emergency patient care. The purchase followed a study into existing equipment at the hospital and an analysis of future needs for the 24-hour emergency facility. Following installation of the DRX-Evolution, the number of examinations has risen from 1,500 per month to more than 2,000.

The project was led by Mr. Pouliquen, Superintendent of the Radiology Department and Biomedical Engineer Mr. Lorcy, who decided on multipurpose DR facilities with a mobile detector as the most efficient solution. The technology of the detector offered by Carestream Health proved attractive as it provided the best compromise between mobility and weight as a wired detector was thought too restrictive, especially for an emergency facility. The ability to carry out a “direct” hand examination, simply by extending the bucky from the table was also important, as was the use of the rail mounted wall stand detector for on-table profile examinations which involves minimal movement of the patient while maintaining excellent image quality.

“The key aspect of the DRX-Evolution was its ease of use and speed,” said Mr Pouliquen. “It first caught our attention during a demonstration at the Journées Françaises de Radiologie, the annual meeting of the French Radiology Society, due to the speed with which the various components could be moved.  We were further convinced when we saw the rate of patients seen “stress free” when we visited a hospital in Spain who were using the system.”

To make the most of the DRX-Evolution, essential redevelopment of the emergency X-ray facilities was carried out, in particular the construction of three changing rooms and an access point for patients confined to bed with a specific waiting room. The system has now been installed for over four months and is used by more than 40 radiographers, sometimes in critical situations. Day-to-day workflow includes specific peaks of activity such as the 40/50 examinations carried out in under 2 hours for the Tuberculosis Screening Centre.

“The DRX-Evolution system has lived up to our expectations perfectly and has allowed us to improve the quality of patient care,” concluded Mr. Pouliquen. “We have observed great enthusiasm from the medical radiographer team for this new work tool.  In addition to the reliability of the equipment, staff appreciate its high speed, fluid movement and comfortable use linked to advanced functions such as “automatic centering” and “automatic tracking”. The touch sensitive console and user commands are very intuitive and the rapid display of the image on the console screen and the automatic positioning of the equipment according to each examination are highly valued. Finally, patient data is displayed on the X-ray tube, which enables us to improve our identity surveillance campaign.”

The DRX-Evolution can simplify and speed the capture of even the most challenging views. After selecting a patient from the worklist, an auto-positioning feature equips the system to position itself for the examination. The thin, lightweight detector delivers enhanced patient comfort that is especially important for trauma cases. The detector can be removed from the Bucky tray for tabletop views, and the system’s wall stand can be positioned by the table for cross-table views. Images are communicated over a secure wireless network and appear on the console in seconds.

This versatile system’s modular design can be easily expanded to address changes in radiology workflow and number of exams. It offers a wall stand with six-axis motion and a four-way float elevating table. Healthcare providers can elect to use one, two or three detectors to perform a wide variety of general radiology and trauma exams.

Source: Carestream Health