Supply chain continuity, remote diagnostics & 7-day support to maintain continued delivery of exceptional service

To reassure and actively support its NHS and independent healthcare customers and stakeholders, Canon Medical has announced that it has created a ‘fast response task force’ to quickly adapt to a fast changing environment and ensure business continuity in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This is in full swing to ensure the continued delivery of first class, reliable imaging equipment service to healthcare organisations.

Canon Medical is continuing to maintain a 7-day support network on critical healthcare equipment including CT, X-ray, MRI and ultrasound, with minimal changes. It is working to provide uninterrupted supply chain management for products and spare parts. Brexit contingency stock is already on location in the UK, ready to deploy and maintain equipment to ensure hospital imaging systems are fully operational at this time of additional pressure.

The Canon Medical remote diagnostics service solution ‘InnerVision™’, is being enhanced for faster response and predicting issues before they become apparent, as well as improving remote fix to relieve the need for engineers to visit hospital sites. These systems enable remote fault diagnosis on all products and even customer training, it also allows applications teams to support clinical questions, aids remote training on all systems and speed up the resolution of equipment issues to prevent patient care interruptions.

Plans to increase access to and deployment of mobile and relocatable Canon Medical CT scanners, diagnostic ultrasound and X-ray are also in preparation. This will help hospitals increase frontline imaging capacities as part of emerging diagnostic pathway planning. Stocks of new products are being built to quickly respond to emergency demand, and personnel are ready to embrace the new challenge.

“Working for the good of all is at the heart of our organisational philosophy. Now, more than ever, it is the time to show a spirit of cooperation and work together to battle the Coronavirus pandemic,” states Mark Hitchman, Managing Director at Canon Medical Systems UK. “We are following closely the guidance from the Department of Health, Public Health England and devolved health administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This will support the global supply chain and put the safety of our staff, our healthcare customers and patients at the forefront of our business operations in this unique time.”

Ongoing updates to Canon Medical’s COVID-19 statement can be viewed at https://uk.medical.canon/coronavirus-covid19-supply-chain-impact/

See our working guidelines and partnership approach here: https://uk.medical.canon/covid-19/

Photo caption: Canon Medical Systems UK service team continuously working to deliver the best imaging equipment support to healthcare organisations.

 

Four practical events planned in Birmingham, Manchester & London

The first of four Canon Medical and Wessex Diagnostic training days of 2020 on ultrasound imaging has successfully taken place in Birmingham. Delegates attended to gain knowledge about the latest application of B-mode, pulsed wave and colour Doppler techniques, in the investigation of the abdominal, extra and intra-cranial and peripheral vasculature. Four different platforms, from across the Canon Medical ultrasound range, were used to support the hands-on sessions.

A further three courses have been scheduled for 2020*. A one day carotid ultrasound imaging training day is planned for 16 May in London* to cover the application of B-scan and duplex, pulsed wave, colour and power Doppler techniques in the investigation of the extracranial and intracranial vasculature; on 22-23 September in Manchester vascular ultrasound imaging will again be covered; and a venous ultrasound imaging training course on 7 November in London is scheduled to focus on ultrasound colour duplex imaging of the deep and superficial venous system.

“The emphasis at all 2020 training workshops with Wessex Diagnostic will be about ‘hands on’ practical working using the latest Canon Medical ultrasound imaging systems. This will enable delegates to practise the investigation protocols under discussion and expand their knowledge in an interactive way,” states Sally Davey, Ultrasound Product Manager at Canon Medical Systems UK.

Helen Humphries, Director at Wessex Diagnostic states, “NHS and independent healthcare specialists are continually expanding and developing their use of diagnostic ultrasound as a front-line clinical tool. Our training courses are designed to keep pushing the boundaries of ultrasound knowledge to meet the challenges of modern healthcare. We’re delighted to have the support of Canon Medical in providing the hands-on system for delegates to use and have received really positive feedback from people attending the first course.”

A full programme of Canon Medical 2020 events* and the ability to book online can be found at  https://uk.medical.canon/courses/

*Courses running to timetable are subject to the latest Public Health England advice due to COVID-19.

Canon Medical’s innovation designed to improve clinical image clarity & confidence

The first UK NHS hospital installation of Advanced intelligent Clear-IQ Engine (AiCE), a deep learning reconstruction Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm, is now live at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey. It is integrated into an Aquilion ONE GENESIS Edition CT scanner from Canon Medical Systems UK and being used to improve the reconstruction and reporting of vascular cases by radiologists.

The innovative software Advanced intelligent Clear-IQ Engine (AiCE) delivers quick, reliable and high-quality image reconstructions from patient CT scans to assist reporting clinicians with more accurate image information to support diagnosis and treatment plans. Using the deep learning algorithm, the solution is trained to differentiate ‘noise’ from true signal, reducing distortions, preserving edges and maintaining details in image outputs. At the same time, the innovation is achieving lower doses than ever seen before in routine CT imaging.

“From a CT scanning operative point of view, we don’t even know that we’ve entered the world of AI as we don’t need to do anything different when setting protocols before patient examinations, it’s all part of the CT system. So there is no barrier to acceptance or AI change management issues from the installation of a new innovation,” states Carmina Esperanza, CT Lead Radiographer at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust. “The advantages to our radiologists of Advanced intelligent Clear-IQ Engine (AiCE) is much sharper images to report on. The benefits to our patient population is confidence that they are gaining the highest standard of care via investment in the latest medical imaging equipment.”

“Advanced intelligent Clear-IQ Engine (AiCE) is a deep learning medical imaging innovation borne from the momentum of big data and health collaboration projects where high quality information from real patient datasets is drawn into AI systems to automate routine or repetitive tasks,” states Mark Hitchman, Managing Director of Canon Medical Systems UK. “AI is an exciting future for healthcare, where patients will be able to spend more time with their consulting clinicians who are freed from repetitive or routine image review tasks to focus back onto patient care and specialist cases. Our global and UK R&D labs are fully engaged in expanding the boundaries of medical imaging with AI to integrate simply into our existing modality equipment. This approach will easily pave the path for UK AI adoption.”

The Advanced intelligent Clear-IQ Engine (AiCE) installation on an Aquilion ONE GENESIS Edition CT scanner from Canon Medical UK at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust was part of three new CT scanners installed at the Trust replacing incumbent systems. An Aquilion Prime SP CT system was also installed into Frimley Park Hospital for acute work to support A&E and inpatients, plus a further Aquilion Prime SP was installed into Aldershot Centre for Health, an outlying medical centre for outpatient diagnostics.

Commenting on the selection of the CT scanners, Carmina Esperanza states, “Canon Medical UK ticked all the boxes for what we needed to update our CT services. We looked at other providers as part of our replacement evaluation, looking at the scope of the technology, the size of the system and after-sales service, but it was a unanimous decision between the Trust selection panel consisting of radiographers and radiologists. Canon Medical UK is best placed to serve our future needs.”

Photo caption: The first UK NHS hospital installation of Advanced intelligent Clear-IQ Engine (AiCE), a deep learning reconstruction Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm, is now live at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey following the installation of an Aquilion ONE GENESIS Edition CT scanner from Canon Medical Systems UK

Pictured L to R: Iain Burley, Account Manager at Canon Medical UK; Megan Wilkins, Site Lead Radiographer; Bridget Manock, Radiology Services Manager; Mark Foxall, Account Manager at Canon Medical UK; Robert McFaul, Senior Radiographer; Orianna Friday, Senior Radiographer; Carmina Esperanza, CT Lead Radiographer; and Alissa Andrews, CT Deputy Lead Radiographer.

Future-proofing of services to expand clinical procedures and create scheduling efficiencies

Royal Bournemouth Hospital has installed a ceiling-mounted Alphenix Sky vascular interventional imaging system from Canon Medical Systems UK to expand its range of clinical services and improve department efficiency.

The Alphenix Sky was selected to replace an incumbent over-the-couch fluoroscopy system that was used mostly for barium procedures, arthograms and hysterosalpingography (HSG). The Alphenix Sky will expand the range of procedures available to clinical staff and be ready to facilitate evolving procedural needs into the future.

“We’re very pleased to welcome the new Alphenix Sky to help future-proof our services and ease pressure on other rooms. We are already experiencing better workflow management and scheduling of the room as we now book slots for insertion of Picc lines and it can be a back-up room should we lose capability or capacity in our other fluoroscopy room. This ensures a high level of service continuity for our patients,” states Anne-Marie Jenkins, X-ray and Ultrasound Service Manager at Royal Bournemouth Hospital, part of The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

She continues, “The new technology makes us ready to expand our capacity for fluoroscopy procedures and Interventional Radiology – enabling us to expand the types of procedures we can undertake to support our clinicians and patients. The system has been really intuitive to use and we have received really good apps support from the Canon Medical team.”

Daniel Parr, XR Modality Manager at Canon Medical Systems UK states, “It is great to add Royal Bournemouth Hospital to our growing roster of new Alphenix imaging customers. We look forward to guiding them on how to gain the very best operational and clinical return on their interventional investment focusing on low dose, image clarity and expanding procedure techniques.”

Photo caption: L-R: Gemma Turley, Senior Radiographer; Clare Robbin, Advanced Practitioner; Polly Cutmore, Radiographer; Sharon Boon, Clinical Applications Specialist XR at Canon Medical Systems UK; Ann Marie Jenkins, Imaging Superintendent; Katy Legg, Radiographer; Catherine Bond, Advanced Practitioner; and Iain Burley, Account Manager at Canon Medical Systems UK.

Aquilion Prime SP joins the team to deliver low dose & fast patient scanning

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has added a further Canon Medical CT system to its diagnostic imaging department with the installation of a new Aquilion Prime SP CT scanner to sit alongside an existing Aquilion ONE GENESIS Edition. It was selected due to the hospital’s familiarity with Canon Medical and the positive experience of equipment reliability, and trust in its service team.

The new CT replaced an ageing scanner and will now deliver faster, more efficient workflow to the department. The system is twice as quick as its predecessor, boosting the number of patients that can be seen and at reduced dose.

A range of new applications is also included with the scanner to introduce new procedures. For example, SEMAR™ will improve visualisation of bone and soft tissue reducing artifacts when imaging patients with metal implants; and SURESubtraction will deliver low dose 3D vascular studies with bone and calcification subtracted for better image visualisation.

“We are very pleased with our new Aquilion Prime SP CT. It offers lower radiation doses with excellent image quality, along with being twice as fast therefore improving efficiency,” states Emma Fondacaro, CT Superintendent Radiographer at The Countess of Chester Hospital. “Our experience of working with Canon Medical is always positive and this repeat purchase of a CT reflects the equipment’s reliability and strong service credentials from the team.”

Photo caption: Left to right: Colin Murray, Account Manager at Canon Medical Systems UK; Emma Fondacaro, CT Superintendent Radiographer; Sergej Postovoj, Service Engineer at Canon Medical Systems; Shelagh Hollowood, Radiographer; Kelly Davies, Radiographer; and Anne Kember, Radiographer.