San Antonio Hospital Installs Eight CARESTREAM DR Systems To Help Lower Dose, Speed Image Access
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--San Antonio Community Hospital (Upland, Calif.) installed eight wireless CARESTREAM DRX Systems to deliver instant image access and other capabilities that can enhance patient care at its 279-bed acute care hospital. Four CARESTREAM DRX-1 Systems were placed in existing X-ray rooms and four CARESTREAM DRX-Mobile Retrofit Kits upgraded portable systems and allowed the hospital to convert from computed radiography to digital radiography. The portable systems are used for bedside imaging in the ER, ICU, surgical suites and inpatient rooms.
“We converted from CR to DR to achieve better image quality and allow our physicians to view images in as little as five seconds. And while DR technology can offer lower exposure than CR, our radiologists were instrumental in the decision to purchase Carestream’s DRX1-C detectors to further decrease patient dose. We believe this enhancement is especially important for critical care and inpatients since they are imaged frequently,” said Kendall Mckee, the hospital’s Radiology Operations Manager.
Prior to purchasing Carestream’s DR systems, the hospital had tried another vendor but was not satisfied with its performance. “Our radiology team unanimously voted for Carestream’s DRX systems because of their image quality and ease of use,” he notes. “We implemented Carestream’s cesium iodide-based DRX-1C detectors for all our systems because our radiologists preferred the exceptional image quality and improved DQE (detective quantum efficiency).”
Mckee reports that instant image access and wireless transmission of images to PACS greatly improves staff productivity, which will become essential later this year when the hospital expands its ED to 52 beds and adds a four-story patient tower with 92 private medical and surgical rooms, including 12 critical care rooms.
The transition to DR was an easy one for technologists, since they had previously worked with Carestream CR systems, which share a common user interface. Offering the same user interface on CR and DR systems allows healthcare providers to maximize productivity and reduces the need for training.
For more information on Carestream’s comprehensive portfolio of digital radiography imaging systems, please visit www.carestream.com.
About San Antonio Community Hospital
San Antonio Community Hospital (SACH) is a 279-bed acute care facility that provides comprehensive care for patients in the Inland Valley communities located in California’s Inland Empire. Specialties include cardiac care, maternity and neonatal intensive care, cancer care, neurological services and emergency services. Once considered a local community hospital, SACH has emerged as an award-winning regional medical facility with satellite locations throughout the area that offer urgent care and outpatient services. The hospital was founded in 1907. For more information, visit www.sach.org.
About Carestream Health
Carestream is a worldwide provider of dental and medical imaging systems and IT solutions; X-ray imaging systems for non-destructive testing and advanced materials for the precision films and electronics markets. For more information about the company’s broad portfolio of products, solutions and services, please contact your Carestream Health representative or visit www.carestream.com.