The Kent and Medway Medical Imaging Consortium has procured a picture archiving and communication system (PACS) from Sectra.
It will be available to radiologists and other clinicians at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and Medway NHS Foundation Trust, to access images such as x-rays, CT scans, MRIs and ultrasounds.
The system will also include a function for monitoring radiation doses.
The contract was signed in April 2022 and draws on the Sectra One subscription model that allows scalability of the solution. Deployment is expected to take place during 2022-23.
Sectra said that better discoverability and accessibility of images will enhance patient safety by avoiding unnecessary duplicate scans and associated radiation exposure for patients.
The company will implement the communication system alongside its vendor neutral archive.
Extending usage
While its use will initially be focused on radiology and medical photography, it also supports enterprise imaging and can be extended to other diagnostic disciplines such as digital pathology.
Sue Lang, who has worked as programme lead for the consortium and radiology transformation programme manager for East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The new system will make important diagnostic images instantly available across our trusts to diagnostic reporters and people delivering care.
“It will also support improved access to imaging across large parts of the South-East of England, where many other hospitals also use the Sectra PACS.
“Patients can expect their imaging to follow their care journey – whether that’s within our consortium or beyond. For example, cancer patients often move to specialist centres, and others are referred to London hospitals as part of a trauma network and then come back to us, so it is key that we can easily share and access imaging.”
