Digital technology just
what the doctor ordered

Health Matters
By Dr. Howard Kessler

My physician said that he has the images from my last X-ray on a computer. Is the image quality better using X-ray film instead?

Using advanced digital technology (images on a computer) affords many advantages over conventional film studies — including faster scans and sharper, higher-quality resolution, which is so powerful that it is driving how physicians treat patients.
Almost all radiology studies at Holy Redeemer Hospital and Medical Center are now performed digitally, meaning that film is not used. Rather, X-ray studies are obtained, interpreted and stored electronically. This includes CAT-scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies, ultrasound and nuclear medicine examinations.
At Holy Redeemer, patients also have the advantage of a 64-Slice CT Scan Imaging System. This state-of-the-art scanner produces 64 high-resolution images, or "slices," of internal organs that form a three-dimensional view when combined — as opposed to scanners as recently as several years ago that produced only one to four images. The slices can be manipulated digitally so the images can be viewed at all angles.
The digital system is advantageous for physicians and patients in terms of diagnosis and treatment. The software provides tools for manipulating the image to improve contrast and resolution, measure tumor size and response to treatment, or diagnose abnormalities in 3-D. The resulting images are significantly more detailed and precise, which enables physicians to develop a more effective treatment plan for any condition in which imaging studies are used.
What’s more, after interpreting digital images, radiologists can dictate a report, which is electronically entered as text while they speak into the hospital’s computer network that features the latest voice recognition technology. The patient who is anxious to get study results no longer has to wait for someone to transcribe a dictated report and deliver radiology film by hand; instead, results of studies are instantaneously transmitted in the linked computer network.
Previous time-consuming visits by the patient’s physician to the radiology department are eliminated. Both the radiologist and the patient’s primary-care physician can discuss the particulars while viewing the images from their computers at different sites.
Radiology technologists have seen one more important benefit of the new digital technology. With images transmitted electronically within seconds to the physician for interpretation, paperwork is greatly reduced, and eliminated in many cases. The increased efficiency gives staff members more time to focus on the compassionate care of patients. ••
Dr. Howard Kessler is chairman of radiology at Holy Redeemer Hospital and Medical Center.
If you have a question you would like answered by a Holy Redeemer Health System expert, please send it to Jennifer McGowan Smith, Holy Redeemer Health System, Public Relations, 1602 Huntingdon Pike, Meadowbrook, PA 19046, or e-mail jmcgowan@holyredeemer.com.