Philips Medical Systems contributes to Fletcher Allen's Renaissance Project

Philips Medical Systems has signed a long-term, strategic alliance with Burlington, Vt.-based Fletcher Allen Health Care Inc.

Philips will provide cardiovascular imaging equipment and software, an enterprise-wide PACS, radiology equipment, as well as patient monitoring systems, services and other Philips products, such as consumer electronics, lighting and appliances. The pact covers all Fletcher Allen facilities, including a new ambulatory care center scheduled to open in April 2005.

Fletcher Allen will upgrade its MR and CT capabilities with the installation of Philips' Intera 3.0Tesla MRI system and Brilliance 40-slice CT system. In addition, Philips' Allura Xper FD10, an interventional x-ray system suited for the catheterization lab, will be installed and used during cardiovascular procedures.

Fletcher Allen's alliance with Philips is an extension of its $360 million Renaissance Project that began in 2001. The project includes the new ambulatory care center, a new birthing center, an expanded emergency department, a new surgery center with eight additional operating suites, an inpatient mental health facility, a new central plant, and a new 1,200-space underground parking garage.

Around the web

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.

The newly cleared offering, AutoChamber, was designed with opportunistic screening in mind. It can evaluate many different kinds of CT images, including those originally gathered to screen patients for lung cancer. 

Trimed Popup
Trimed Popup