Annual Report 2010 - St. James's Hospital

Clinical Service Directorates I DiagIm Directorate
in imaging and medical devices. The IR room saw a
very welcome and complete refurbishment in 2010 with
replacement of the existing equipment with a state of the
art Siemens Artis Zee system which has advanced imaging
capabilities, including 3D. This will further enhance the
capabilities of IR to support the referring services in 2011.
Áine Quinn, PACS Manger, presented at the Cerner Health
Conference (CHC) outlining the benefi ts realised by St.
James’s since the Implementation of the new viewing
platform, in conjunction with advanced 3D visualisation
software. Benefi ts included an increase of 12.4% in
Radiologist productivity.
In the PACS section of DiagIm, we are committed to
continued development and refi ning of the functional aspects
of both the RIS and PACS, thus allowing for more streamlined
workfl ows and increased effi ciencies.
Interventional radiology suite
PACS/RIS/EPR
In 2010 a PACS Upgrade project was started. Phase I
upgraded the processing power, and enterprise wide viewing
software enabling the faster distribution throughout the
hospital. The fi rst phase of the project has been a success
resulting in increased end user satisfaction. Phase II,
upgrading the Radiology Viewing software platform is due to
be completed by the end of Q1 2011.
A new workfl ow for the reporting of Clinical Trial studies was
developed and introduced. This has resulted in standardised
reporting of these studies, using a set of rules published by
an International collaboration and which the National Cancer
Institute (NCI) recommends.
In 2010, there were 2 presentations given at International
conferences by DiagIm staff.
Breast Service
Activity in Breast Care continued to increase in 2010 and the
breast radiology service responded to demand. 2010 again
saw remarkable increases in activity across the spectrum of
breast imaging and intervention.
5,392 mammograms were carried out in 2010 compared
to 4,067 in 2009, representing an increase of 33%. Breast
biopsies carried out in 2010 amounted to 655 compared
to 360 in 2009, an increase of 82% and Breast Ultrasound
procedures including FNA, wire localisation and aspiration
increased by 36% in 2010 ( 2,802 in 2009 and 3,812 in 2010).
The department was delighted to welcome Dr. Sylvia
O’Keeffe, a consultant radiologist with a specialist interest in
breast imaging. Dr. O’Keeffe is a graduate of Trinity College
Dublin and completed her radiology specialist registrar training
here in SJH. She completed fellowship training in breast
radiology in the renowned Cambridge unit. Dr. O’Keeffe’s
appointment has enabled the provision of 8 dedicated
breast radiology sessions and has been instrumental in
accommodating the increasing demand.
Based on the success of the introduction of the CTPA Advisor
in St. James’ 2009, Dr. Gillian Murphy, SpR Radiology, gave
an excellent presentation at the, highly respected, Radiological
Society of Northern America (RSNA) conference in November.
Clinical Decision Support is a rapidly growing area in
Medicine, one which we are proud to be part of.
2010 also saw the appointment of a nurse dedicated to
the needs of breast radiology patients. Staff Nurse Maeve
Stenson plays a vital and unique role liaising between breast
radiology and breast care and helps to enhance the patient
experience within the unit.
The department footprint has undergone a signifi cant
change with new dedicated patient waiting and changing
areas. Imaging capacity was doubled with the purchase and
installation of a new Hologic digital mammography suite and a
new Hitachi dedicated breast ultrasound unit.
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