Volume 11 Issue 1 (February) - Australasian Society for Ultrasound ...

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Exam
Time savings
Abdominal 38%
Vascular 52%
OB 43%
The Ultrasound Department staff at the University of Colorado Hospital.
The same is true with our vascular imaging,
where we have realized a 52% reduction
in exam time. The Protocols feature is
always right in front of you to remind you
what images have been acquired and which
images are still needed. The Protocols
feature has also been helpful in reminding
staff which Doppler measurements we
require, as well as the level of the vessel a
specific measurement should be taken. This
is particularly useful to our students who
are often overwhelmed with the amount
of information they are expected to retain
regarding specific requirements of each
exam type.
OB has been a little more challenging
since a fetus doesn’t necessarily cooperate
in letting us acquire images in a specific
order consistently. Despite the inherent
challenges in acquiring fetal images, we
have realized a 43% reduction in exam time
and find that the Protocols feature acts as
a useful tool in reminding sonographers
which images still need to be taken.
An additional benefit is the reduced
number of keystrokes as the result of the
automatic annotation. We anticipate that
this feature will help reduce sonographers’
repetitive motion injuries of the hand,
wrist, elbow and/or neck, as well as
decrease the time it takes to type a word
or locate the annotation feature on
a machine.
Accreditation procedures
Though our department’s procedure
manual addressed accreditation guidelines,
these guidelines were not consistently met
as the result of varying scanning styles.
The iU22 Protocols will be an essential
element to our lab in meeting accreditation
requirements and assuring quality control.
Sonographers now know exactly which
views are required for specific exams
and annotation is automatically entered
when a given view is accepted. We will
no longer have to review numerous cases
looking for those appropriate to submit for
accreditation, only to find that a required
image or measurement was not obtained.
Bottom-line business benefits
As a result of the time savings realized,
the University of Colorado has realized a
20% increase in patients seen each day. We
anticipate that our workload will be further
increased as we acquire more systems
capable of performing this feature.
This time savings also means a stronger
focus on quality patient time, as Protocols
automate many of the time-consuming,
repetitious moves.
Philips’ Protocols feature is helping
the University of Colorado Hospital
meet its primary objective to deliver
comprehensive, quality medical care. The
increase in revenue realized by increasing
the number of patients seen makes
justifying the investment in the
new technology that much easier.
About the Author:
Julia A. Drose, BA, RDMS, RDCS, RVT,
is Manager, Divisions of Ultrasound and
Prenatal Diagnosis & Genetics, Associate
Professor, Department of Radiology,
University of Colorado Hospital.
Contact us today
Visit www.philips.com/pushingtheboundaries
for more information. Or contact us to
see the iU22 at work in your lab:
Tel: 1800 251 400 (Aust) or
0800 251 400 (NZ)
Email: pmsa.contactus@philips.com
­54 ASUM Ultrasound Bulletin 2008 February 11 (1)