The healthcare industry is keeping pace with the rest of the country when it comes to technological advances. These advances range from new surgical techniques to cutting edge materials and medicines. But the development that is the easiest to see and appreciate is the high-tech hardware showing up in exam rooms everywhere.

Harrison Hospital’s medical imaging department has been using computer radiography for the last few years. Instead of film, the x-ray machines use an imaging plate that is “developed” by a separate reader in about 30 seconds. Connected to the department’s Picture Archiving and Communications System, or PACS, these images can then be uploaded nearly instantaneously into a patient’s file, or accessed remotely by any treating physician through a secure Internet connection.

In addition to the time-saving benefits fast turnaround times offer, the system makes things even more efficient by allowing an unlimited number of people to review the same records simultaneously.

“It’s a good way to deliver care,” said Mike Gray, director of medical imaging for Harrison. “It allows for very quick diagnosis and faster patient output.”

If 30 seconds isn’t fast enough for you, Harrison’s emergency room has a computer-based direct radiography system in place. Working similarly to a digital camera, the fixed system uses a flat detector that exposures are made onto, with images ready for viewing in about 30 seconds.

The emergency room at Harrison is further technology equipped with an electronic tracking board that ER staff use to manage patient flow and monitor patient status. Once a patient has been registered in the ER, the hospital’s computer system automatically tracks the patient’s status, lab test results, and so on, and updates the tracking board instantly. The board will alert staff when necessary, such as when lab results come in, so that busy ER personnel don’t have to track all the information down and so patient wait times can be reduced.

More technology developments at Harrison include an upgrade to the hospital’s computer-based EKC system. Among other improvements, the upgrade provides the capability for physicians to access EKG readouts from outside of the hospital, and allows the EKG system to be connected to telemetry monitoring systems in the critical care department, so doctors can be notified right away of a patient’s status.

Pamela Parker, Harrison’s director of nursing informatics, notes that there are even more cutting edge EKG systems out there that allow doctors to access EKG files from their pagers, PDAs, or other wireless mobile devices. Harrison does not have plans to implement these technologies in the near future, she said, partly because of the significant security precautions that need to be taken when delivering sensitive patient information through wireless technologies.

“There are a lot of layers of things you have to put in to make sure that the information is delivered securely,” Parker said. “It does slow you down some, but it forces us to really look at things as we’re implementing.”

Early next year, Harrison will be adopting additional technologies. Orthopedic surgeons and patients at Harrison will benefit with the introduction of computer-assisted surgery. Springtime will also see the introduction of intensity modulated radiation therapy, or IMRT, for the oncology center.

Traditional radiation therapies use wide beams of radiation. Malignant cells were destroyed but healthy tissue surrounding tumors was also damaged. With IMRT, a computer-based treatment, a three-dimensional CAT scan guides the treatment so the radiation can be targeted specifically and the system can focus the intensity of the radiation on the tumor, protecting the surrounding tissues.

Outside of the hospital environment, doctor’s offices are also wired with some of the latest medical technology. Dr Derek Boyden, of Olympic Surgical Associates, takes advantage of new imaging studies that are available, particularly when working with a patient with significant defects of the skull and face. Radiographs are converted to a digital image, which can then be fabricated into a model. In this way, doctors can evaluate the work that needs to be done before the patient is under the knife, and, when necessary, the model can be used to craft custom implants.

Dr Steven Sadowsky, who runs a dental practice in Poulsbo, uses computer rendering to show his patients what they will look like after a procedure. Dr Marta Costa and Dr Miranda Dageenakis of Costa and Dageenakis Family Dentistry in Port Orchard, use an intra-oral camera to take close-up photos of patients’ teeth. These pictures can be used to support insurance claims, as well as to give patients a dentist’s view into their own mouth.

“It’s a good teaching tool for patients,” said Dr Dageenakis.

Like Harrison, Costa and Dageenakis Family Dentistry uses digital radiography in its office. The system includes tools to manipulate the images so the doctors can get a more accurate look at the radiograph. The doctors can also send images via email to specialists when they need to refer their clients

“We just love it,” said Dr Costa.

The flagship piece of technological hardware in Dr Costa and Dr Dageenakis’ office is a device known as CEREC. CEREC, which stands for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics, is the newest technology that allows dentists to fabricate crowns or veneers in about two hours, with no need for impressions or follow-up visits. A special camera takes an “optical impression” of the tooth that needs to be restored and then uses computer aided design (CAD) technology to design the restoration from the image. Computer aided manufacturing (CAM) technology then creates the restoration. The restoration is made from tooth-colored ceramic, and blends nearly seamlessly with the existing tooth.

One of two dental practices in Kitsap County that own a CEREC system, Costa and Dageenakis Family Dentistry have been using it for about a year and a half.

“CEREC doesn’t work for everyone, but if I didn’t have it there are so many things I couldn’t do,” said Dr Costa. One of the benefits of CEREC, she noted, is that they are frequently able to save much more of the natural tooth than with traditional crowns.

“Right now,” she said, “is the most exciting time to practice.”.