Five new CT scanners installations will expand imaging capacity & cardiac capabilities

The introduction of five new CT scanners at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust will expand cardiac imaging across its hospital sites in Lincoln, Boston and Grantham. They will enable the Trust to enhance diagnostic services at all sites. The new equipment will also boost general imaging capacity across the region, giving greater healthcare resilience and a better patient experience.

Three Canon Medical Aquilion Prime SP CTs have already been installed: two at Pilgrim Hospital Boston as a replacement static CT inside the hospital, and one inside a new modular building; and one at Grantham and District Hospital. A further two CTs, including a state-of-the-art Aquilion ONE PRISM Edition featuring Advanced intelligent Clear-IQ Engine (AiCE) are to be in place at Lincoln County Hospital by the summer of 2021.

Paul Clark, Radiology Service Manager at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust states, “The advanced technology inside the new Aquilion CT scanners is a vital part of modernising our imaging services to be fit for the future. Getting dose as low as reasonably practical to reduce the radiation burden on patients, whilst optimising image quality for diagnosis, has always been the challenge in CT. This was a key motivator in selecting the new Advanced intelligent Clear-IQ Engine (AiCE) inside the Aquilion PRISM CT – it is a game-changer for the future of diagnostic imaging to speed up patient examinations yet keep image quality high and dose low for confident diagnoses. We have also added cardiac capabilities to all the new CT scanners which means patients can be seen closer to home rather than always needing to travel to the city hospital.”

Mark Thomas, CT Modality Manager at Canon Medical Systems UK states, “The enthusiasm at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust is great to hear and we know the Aquilion CT scanners designed for speed, high-quality imaging and low dose won’t disappoint. This is the third generation of CT scanner innovation that Canon Medical has provided to the Trust, and we can assure them of continued, first-class technical after care by our service team, Applications for Life and ongoing knowledge development through our Imaging Academy.”

Photo caption: The introduction of five new CT scanners at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust will enhance cardiac imaging services across its hospital sites. Pictured L to R: Sarah Robinson, Clinical Imaging Assistant; Nigel Allen, Radiology Operational Manager; Miguel Santa Cruz, CT Radiographer; and Afra Sulfikher, CT Modality Lead at Pilgrim Hospital Boston with the new Aquilion Prime SP CT.

Healthcare customers give big thumbs up to responsive & proactive service team keeping UK imaging systems in working order

Meeting the imaging equipment service demands of NHS and independent healthcare institutions and being well prepared for the Brexit transition period has served Canon Medical Systems UK well with a healthy start to 2021 in terms of customer feedback. The first part of the year has delivered more than usual 10/10 Net Promoter scores underpinning the company’s promise of standing by the side of its customers in the provision and support of diagnostic imaging systems.

“Installing new systems is one part of the process to overhaul health ecosystems to be fit for the future in a climate of COVID-19 backlogs and growing patient capacity demands. But ensuring staff are well trained, supporting breakdowns, and resolving technical issues swiftly are also imperative to ensure the NHS and independent healthcare providers are on point to serve their patients well,” states Paul Parsons, Director of Service and Customer Support at Canon Medical UK. “We’ve been through the whirlwinds of Covid and Brexit but feel in great shape to continue meeting the needs of our customers.”

In testimony to its detailed Brexit scenario planning, Canon Medical delivered 100% of all new customer orders on time and in full since the end of the transition period. From MRI and CT to X-ray and Ultrasound, there has been no disruption to the supply chain supporting NHS and independent healthcare providers. UK spare parts deployment and stock planning have also been unaffected.

Emma Liddle, Operations Manager, Mobile Diagnostics at Ramsay Health Care UK states, “Recent experiences of customer aftercare from Canon Medical have been hugely responsive and delivered a positive impact to ensure continued service provision on our mobile scanning units. The service team and engineers go above and beyond the call of duty providing in-depth technical experience and support for our CT scanners.”

NHS hospital customers also score Canon Medical UK highly. A CT/MRI Superintendent Radiographer in the South who needed support in early 2021 states,” We are very happy with the technical support Canon Medical provides – it resolves problems in a timely manner and always identify the correct replacement part swiftly to get us up and running as soon as possible. Its proactive thinking helps minimise delays to our patients.”

Another CT radiographer based at a Northern hospital Trust added, “Canon Medical provide prompt technical support to keep our scanners fully operational and resolve any problems we encounter with a high level of communication and skill. This helps minimise delays to our patients and keeps our imaging services running. I had no hesitation in scoring them 10/10 recently.”

Photo caption: Meeting the imaging equipment service demands of NHS and independent healthcare institutions and being well prepared for the Brexit transition period has served Canon Medical Systems UK well with a healthy start to 2021 in terms of customer feedback.

Northern Health and Social Care Trust to strengthen radiology services & improve diagnostic waiting times for local population

The first AI-assisted CT scanner in Northern Ireland has been ordered by Causeway Hospital in Coleraine, County Londonderry, part of Northern Health and Social Care Trust. The new scanner will strengthen radiology services and improve diagnostic waiting times for the local population, at the same time as having a net-zero carbon footprint to support health sustainability targets.

The Aquilion Prime SP CT from Canon Medical Systems UK will be situated in the main radiology department to support its Emergency Department imaging requirements and scheduled inpatient procedures. It is powered by an Advanced intelligent Clear-IQ Engine (AiCE) and is the world’s first CT scanner using Deep-Learning reconstruction. It produces exceptionally detailed imaging for clinical interpretation at the lowest possible dose for patients.

The CT scanner will be delivered with a net-zero carbon footprint due to the robust carbon offset initiative run by Canon Medical UK. This will greatly assist the Trust’s sustainability reporting for the system as all CO2 from manufacture, shipping / delivery and energy consumption for the lifetime of the equipment has already been offset to a high-impact carbon reduction project.

“We are delighted to strengthen and renew our long-standing partnership with Canon Medical.  The new Aquilion Prime SP CT will be our second CT scanner within Causeway Hospital and will greatly benefit the local patient population around the Causeway Coast giving greater access to CT imaging capacity to improve diagnostic waiting times,” states Rachel Brown, Trust Lead CT Radiographer at Northern Health and Social Care Trust.

She continues, “We strive to achieve the best diagnostic images possible for clinical interpretation at the lowest radiation dose for patients, and this is certainly possible with the new Canon Medical CT scanner. It will introduce us to AI-assisted CT featuring Advanced intelligent Clear-IQ Engine (AiCE) technology, designed to remove image noise with no degradation to the image information; help us automatically manage exposure controls according to the individual shape and size of each patient with SUREExposure; and provide variable Helical Parameters (vHP3) to combine gated and non-gated acquisition for fast and low-dose examinations.”

Billy Erwin, Account Manager at Canon Medical Systems UK states, “We are very proud to be supporting Causeway Hospital with its radiology journey into a new chapter of AI-assisted CT. The new scanner will help future-proof imaging capacity now and into the future with greater image quality for clinical confidence, fewer repeats and improved patient dose. Collectively, this will help to strengthen imaging capabilities for the local community at the same time as considering the long-term health of the planet.”

Photo caption: The first Canon Medical AI-assisted CT scanner in Northern Ireland has been ordered by Causeway Hospital in Coleraine, County Londonderry, part of Northern Health and Social Care Trust.