AGFA GEVAERT : UZ Gent in Belgium streamlines nuclear medicine workflow with Agfa HealthCare’s IMPAX

- IMPAX for Nuclear Medicine will fully integrate the hospital's nuclear medicine department workflow and enhance interdepartmental communications. - Specialized functionalities include processing, reading and reporting of all nuclear medicine, SPECT, PET and multi-modality images. - IMPAX for Nuclear Medicine will complement the hospital's IMPAX RIS/PACS solution.

Agfa HealthCare announces today that it has signed an agreement with Ghent University Hospital (UZ Gent) in Belgium to implement its IMPAX for Nuclear Medicine solution, including the Oasis for IMPAX dedicated nuclear medicine workstation package, within the hospital. The solution is expected to be up and running by the end of 2013 and will complement UZ Gent's IMPAX Radiology Information System/Picture Archiving and Communication System (RIS/PACS).

UZ Gent is one of the largest hospitals in the Flanders region of Belgium. Every medical specialty for regular and intensive care is represented in this 1000+ bed hospital, which treats about 75,000 inpatients and 400,000 outpatients each year. Its mission is to use treatment, education and research to improve the lives of patients. Enhancing decision-making and analysis for diagnosis is part of this aim.

Guided workflows, fast remote reading and 'anywhere' viewing
IMPAX for Nuclear Medicine is built on Agfa HealthCare's advanced IMPAX 6 RIS/PACS/Reporting workflow platform for image and data management. Designed to meet the unique needs of the specialty, it allows hospitals to fully integrate the nuclear medicine department's workflow and to optimize interdepartmental communications. It comprises specialized functionalities to process, read and report all nuclear medicine, SPECT, PET and multi-modality images. User-friendly features include guided workflows that unite information, applications and image processing within one cohesive image management and reporting application.

IMPAX for Nuclear Medicine comprises the Oasis for IMPAX workstation solution, developed by Agfa HealthCare in partnership with Segami Corporation, which brings an integrated, fully featured nuclear medicine image processing and viewing package to the IMPAX workstation. Clinicians no longer have to switch between workstations, or manually synchronize patient study lists.

Consult and compare prior exams
"IMPAX for Nuclear Medicine will allow us to easily consult and compare prior exams and data," comments Professor Ingeborg Goethals, Head of the Nuclear Medicine Department. "The solution is already being used in several sites in Europe, the Middle-East and North America, so we were confident that it would also work well for us."

"This choice underlines the capabilities of our IMPAX for Nuclear Medicine solution to meet the requirements necessary to deliver the benefits of integrated care, and continues the long-standing partnership between Agfa HealthCare and UZ Gent," says Koen Vandewalle, Key Account Manager, Agfa HealthCare Belux. "The dedicated solution will support the hospital to enhance its efficiency but will also allow the hospital to work towards its goal of continuously improving patient care, through better interdepartmental communication of images and diagnosis."