A private hospital in Kent has invested in a computed radiography (CR) system, as part of the first stage of “a wider digital imaging strategy". The technology, which was supplied to Chelsfield Park Hospital, near Orpington, by Kodak, comes in several parts. The Directview CR 850 System processes the images from cassette and can send them to a choice of workstations for soft copy diagnosis or reporting. These workstations can be used to view, manipulate, and analyse images Should hard copies be needed, the images can be printed out from a Dryview 8900 Laser Imager printer, which has been networked across the radiology, ultrasound and screening room. “Although we are currently printing all studies, we intend to expand the system with a web server to assist hospital-wide image viewing and we are also looking at a company-wide PACS system,” said Brian Burgess (above right), Imaging & IT Manager for the hospital. “The Kodak solution fitted well within our overall digital imaging strategy and our staff and consultants have adapted quickly to digital imaging." The system was installed in the hospital darkroom, which has now been renamed the ‘Image Processing Room’. The hospital is owned and run by BMI Healthcare, which has just under 50 other private acute facilities in the UK.
