Franciscan Health Rensselaer (Rensselaer, Ind.) purchased a new CARESTREAM DRX-Excel Plus radiography/fluoroscopy (R/F) system and a CARESTREAM DRX-Evolution Plus to deliver rapid access to high-quality X-ray images that help physicians assess and treat patients at this critical access hospital.
“Both systems represent major upgrades to our current equipment,” reports Cindy Reed, the hospital’s Director of Radiology. “We evaluated the DRX-Excel Plus at RSNA 2015 and were extremely impressed with its efficient design that can increase workflow, reduce manual actions by technologists and help reduce dose.”
DRX-Evolution Plus SystemReed and her staff also evaluated offerings from other suppliers. “Carestream’s DRX-Excel Plus system represents a new and improved design. Other R/F platforms operate much like the system we have had for years. Since we are installing a new system, we wanted all the upgrades that come with the latest generation of equipment,” she explains.
Productivity-enhancing capabilities offered by the DRX-Excel Plus include a positioning pedal that allows the operator to have their hands free—which is helpful for interventional exams—and a remote control that can move the table from anywhere in the room. The system offers an ergonomic design and can perform contrast exams using fluoroscopy that can be associated with a radiography image, in addition to specialized contrast procedures that record both fluoroscopy and radiography sequences and interventional procedures.
An elevating table tilts for fluoroscopy exams and can be lowered or raised to provide flexible, comfortable imaging for patients with limited mobility including wheelchair patients.
The new DRX-Evolution Plus system equips technologists to capture X-ray images using a wall stand and a four-way floating top table, and is designed to expedite cross-table and other difficult imaging studies. The new platform offers an extended tube column, new high-performance generator, motorized wall stand, motorized or non-motorized overhead tube and an optional table to accommodate patients up to 705 pounds (320 kilograms).
The hospital is making renovations to prepare for installation of both rooms, and it is already using a CARESTREAM DRX Plus 3543C Detector to upgrade its existing mobile imaging system from CR to DR technology. “This detector will be shared with the DRX-Evolution Plus system when its installation is completed. Being able to share DRX detectors among all DRX systems enables us to maximize our investment and gain added flexibility,” Reed reports.
About Franciscan Health Rensselaer
Franciscan Health Rensselaer is a critical access hospital located in Rensselaer, Indiana. The hospital’s staff provide emergency care as well as primary care and specialty services—such as cardiology, orthopedics, urology and oncology—in addition to hospital-based outpatient clinics. Inpatient services include medical/surgical and an extended care unit. A fully automated laboratory, certified mammography services, CT, MRI, ultrasound and nuclear scanning meet the testing needs of inpatients and outpatients. The outpatient department offers a variety of same-day surgery and clinics. For more information visit www.FranciscanHealth.org/Rensselaer.
