Worthing and Southlands NHS Trust has chosen Ferrania LifeImaging to implement the latest digital imaging technology, in a move designed to increase efficiency within the trust’s hospitals and improve patient care. The trust’s existing analogue equipment will be replaced with Ferrania’s OnNet Web Browser, reporting workstation and Mitra PACS broker systems, supported by computed radiography (CR) equipment facilitating instant access to digital images and reports across both hospitals. Ferrania’s OnNet Web Browser allows digital images to be viewed on any PC client throughout the trust’s intranet. Over the course of the three-year agreement, the CR equipment supplied by Ferrania will be linked along with all other DICOM radiological modalities, including CT & Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and will communicate over the hospital network infrastructure. In addition to the high level of functionality and the cost-effectiveness of utilising existing hardware, one of its many benefits is that it allows the burning of images along with a DICOM viewer onto a CD or DVD. With hospitals often requested to send images to third parties, the ability to transfer this information onto one CD reduces production and transport costs for the hospital. "With NHS hospitals under continued pressure to improve efficiency, speed up processes and introduce better patient care, digital radiological imaging is an essential tool," said Dorian Cook, key account manager at Ferrania LifeImaging. He added: "By taking this step towards upgrading to a digital imaging platform, the Worthing and Southlands NHS Trust is now ideally positioned to integrate into a region-wide PACS structure in the future which will improve both patient care and choice." Ferrania LifeImaging has also recently completed RIS/PACS installations at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust and the Newcastle NHS Trust.
