OSF Saint Francis Medical Center Deploys Carestream’s DRX Imaging Systems to Help Enhance Care for OR, ER, ICU Patients

ROCHESTER, N.Y., March 20 — OSF Saint Francis Medical Center (Peoria, Ill.) installed one CARESTREAM DRX-Revolution Mobile X-Ray System and two CARESTREAM DRX-Mobile Retrofit Kits to help provide rapid access to high-resolution X-ray images conducted throughout the hospital. All three systems are equipped with high-resolution CARESTREAM DRX-1C cesium iodide detectors. The 616-bed hospital is a major teaching affiliate of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria and is a flagship hospital for OSF Healthcare.

In its conversion to digital radiography, the radiology department wanted to find systems that offered “industry-leading functionality and strong reliability,” according to Juanita Reader, RT(R), the hospital’s Manager of Diagnostic Radiology In-Patient and Informatics.

The hospital’s radiology team conducted a week of on-site patient imaging for both the DRX-Revolution and an existing mobile imaging system retrofitted with a Carestream DRX-1 system that includes wireless communication capabilities and a high-resolution detector.

“We are extremely pleased with the advanced features, exceptional image quality and ease of use offered by these systems,” said Reader. The new imaging systems are used in the ER, OR and for bedside inpatient exams. “We have reduced our fleet of portable imaging systems by one-third. Carestream’s DRX detectors can also be moved to another mobile imaging system. So if one of our existing portable systems goes down, we can move the detector to another unit,” she explained.     

The staff conducts 3,700 portable exams a month—1,600 exams are for pediatric ICU patients and are handled by dedicated portable systems. “Our three Carestream detectors capture 85 percent of our remaining 2,100 monthly portable exams. Use of the Carestream systems has reduced patient dose by 20-30 percent for many exams, and up to 50 percent for some exams,” she explained.

Reader added that the hospital’s technologists are extremely impressed with the image quality, maneuverability, small footprint and visibility offered by the DRX-Revolution. “The retrofitted systems do not have the innovative features of the DRX-Revolution, but they are able to deliver comparable image quality, as well as improved visualization of tube and line placements and enhanced image quality for pediatric exams through use of Carestream’s specialized imaging software.”  

CARESTREAM DRX-Mobile Retrofit Kits allow hospitals to upgrade existing CR-based portable units with wireless DR detectors that can deliver higher quality, lower dose and improved productivity. The CARESTREAM DRX-Revolution Mobile X-ray System is a versatile mobile X-ray system that features a small footprint, exceptional maneuverability, excellent image quality and wireless communication of medical exams.

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About OSF Saint Francis Medical Center
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, with 616 beds and more than 900 physicians, is the fourth-largest medical center in Illinois. A major teaching affiliate of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, it is the area’s only Level I Trauma Center, the highest level designated in trauma care. It serves as the resource hospital for emergency medical services for north-central Illinois. It is home to Children’s Hospital of Illinois and the Illinois Neurological Institute. OSF Saint Francis and Children’s Hospital have been designated Magnet Status for excellence in nursing care since 2004. Learn more at www.osfsaintfrancis.org.