A new fixed overhead tube suspension (OTS) digital X-ray system leverages automation to help radiology departments deliver the best patient care possible.

The GE Healthcare (GE; Chicago, IL, USA) Definium Tempo is designed to act as an in-room command center, with a tube-mounted console providing all the functionality needed for patient selection, protocol selection, technique modification, and positioning setup, all without having to leave the patient’s side. Automated workflows and features such as auto positioning, auto centering, and auto tracking, automate the positioning of system components to maximize overall ergonomic operation for the technologist, while also helping to improve overall patient experience.

A collection of workflow enhancement tools formed by seamlessly combining a 3D video camera, computer vision, and video analytics help address positioning errors, poor image quality due to incorrect patient habitus selection, and ambiguities during image reading due to unique conditions. The GE Intelligent Workflow Suite includes Position Assist, Technique Assist, and Patient Snapshot to avoiding image retakes; produce more consistent images; increase technologists’ productivity; and improve clinical confidence by avoiding radiologist follow-up during diagnosis.

“I’ve been a technologist for over 17 years and using this system has been unlike anything I’ve experienced before; it’s a person inside the room with you at all times, it’s like you’re never working alone, it’s like a second technologist…” said X-ray technologist Nadia Dorson, of North Central Bronx Hospital (NY, USA). “The camera provides real-time information on the patient so you can make necessary adjustments. And everything is as light as a feather, even down to the grid, so I’m able to function better and am not encountering some of the day-to-day wear and tear I’ve experienced in the past.”

The daily challenges of heavy lifting, repetitive motions, uneasy patients, and long hours lead to more than 70% of technologists experiencing work-related injuries. Variability in patient positioning and exam set up can lead to extra dose with ‘repeat and reject’ rates (the need to retake images), as high as 25%. These pressures add additional burden to already strained radiology departments.

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