Technology has no doubt changed the way we live, work, and even practice medicine. Portable medical equipment, digital ultrasounds, remote access, and smartphone applications have all changed the way patients receive treatment. Modern mobile ultrasound solutions have eliminated the need for film, cds, dvds, and mailing – cutting costs and saving time by providing immediate access to the images over the internet.

Now, physicians routinely capture the patient’s heart quickly, store the images online, and integrate the web-based reports into their daily practice.

Mobile medical technology also increases the reach for rural healthcare facilities to provide care. Ultrasound technicians no longer have to be based solely in a large city or large hospital. Even the smallest doctors’ offices can have a trained technician on staff to take the image and share it with a women’s health specialist or cardiologist somewhere else. This means more women in cities and small towns across the U.S. can have access to important heart disease screenings.

Studycast™ for Women’s Heart Health

Studycast™ allows you to transmit and view ultrasound images anywhere you have internet access. You can create complete, professional reports that include study images with just a few clicks, and you can even share those images with your patients right in your office on an iPad.

Studycast™ is scalable, flexible, vendor-neutral, and compatible with all ultrasound equipment manufacturers. It’s a complete IT solution without the headache of managing IT.

Learn how Studycast™ for women’s health can work for you. Schedule a Demo or call (919) 277-0636!

The CDC offers these recommendations to Americans on what they can do throughout the year to live heart-healthy lives:

• Get up and get active by being physically active for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week.
• Know your ABCS:
• Ask your doctor if you should take an Aspirin every day.
• Find out if you have high Blood pressure or Cholesterol, and if you do, get effective treatment.
• If you Smoke, get help to quit.
• Make your calories count by eating a heart-healthy diet high in fresh fruits and vegetables and low in sodium and trans fat.

Of course, like most diseases, early detection is key. Detecting heart disease early can help limit the weakening of heart muscle and prevent damage to the vascular system. Early detection saves lives and millions of dollars in associated healthcare treatments.

Telemedicine Used for Faster Diagnoses

Cardiologists are faced with the need to deliver superior patient care in a cost-effective and faster manner. Telemedicine streamlines workflow by making echocardiograms and ultrasound images available online. It also provides the cardiologist real-time access to critical information and time sensitive results which can help them make critical decisions and diagnoses immediately.

A web-based solution significantly improves an imaging center’s ability to process and share diagnostic tests and medical studies. Rather than waiting 2-10 days to see the results of a diagnostic test, web-based solutions allow reading physicians to receive and access the reports immediately and automatically. Reading physicians who use web-based diagnostic testing and imaging can complete interpretations any time on any computer with internet access. This means greater flexibility for the specialist and a faster turnaround time for the referring physician and hence, the patient.

Studycast® Helps Cardiac Programs in the US and Abroad

Studycast® is a cardiology telemedicine solution that facilitates a more efficient workflow for you and your cardiology practice. Studycast® allows you to access your study images and measurement from anywhere with internet access, even on an iPad.

This remote access and ease of use has allowed Studycast® studies to be viewed and transmitted across the US and even in medical mission projects around the world including Rwanda and India.

Learn more about how Studycast’s® telemedicine solution can help you view your echocardiograms faster and from virtually anywhere. Schedule a Demo or call (919) 277-0636!

In late January, ASE sponsored the travel of cardiovascular sonographers to a remote field in India, where an estimated 12 million people gathered for a meditation camp. These sonographers and their Indian physician counterparts used hand-held echocardiography units provided by GE Healthcare in combination with Studycast’s web-based ultrasound transmission solution to provide free cardiac medical services to more than 1,000 pre-screened people.

“In this unique medical mission project, echocardiograms performed over the course of 2 days by a physician-led team of sonographers were uploaded via a secure internet platform and read remotely by expert echocardiographers throughout the world,” said Dr. Patricia A. Pellikka, Echocardiography Laboratory Director at the Mayo Clinic.

“The volunteers were members of the American Society of Echocardiography. In this way, the expertise of the members of the ASE was shared with more than 1000 patients with suspected heart disease who would likely never have had access to echocardiograms. This represents a novel method of conducting a mission trip, as physicians were able to help without leaving their practices. And, sonographers from the U.S., specially trained in acquiring the images, were able to offer the one-on-one patient care that makes this technique so unique.”

The project, called “ASE Global: Focus on India,” elevated the practice of telemedicine to the next level of excellence, taking it out of the lab and to the doorsteps of an underserved population halfway around the world.

The cross-cultural educational project showcased the possibilities offered by breakthroughs in hand-held echocardiography technology and cloud-based transmission, while offering participants a unique opportunity to learn from one another and be part of a humanitarian effort.

About ASE

The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) is an organization of professionals committed to excellence in cardiovascular ultrasound and its application to patient care through education, advocacy, research, innovation and service to the public. They are heart and circulation ultrasound specialists dedicated to using ultrasound to improve patients’ health and quality of life. The organization was founded in 1975 and is the largest international organization for cardiac imaging.

For more information please visit their website at http://www.asecho.org

About Studycast

Studycast is the leader in mobile ultrasound imaging and diagnostic testing. Based out of Raleigh, NC, Studycast is used across the U.S. and the world.

Learn more about how Studycast web-based medical imaging solutions can help improve your cardiology practice. Schedule a Demo or call (919) 277-0636!

The project is called ‘ASE Global: Focus on India’ and its mission it to elevate cardiovascular ultrasound to the next level of excellence, taking it out of the lab and to the doorsteps of people anywhere in the world.

The sponsored sonographers and their Indian physician counterparts will use hand-held echocardiography units to provide free imaging services to as many as 1,000 pre-screened people. ASE is bringing trained, registered experts to assist the procedures, mimicking the state of the practice in the US, where the medical system relies on the expertise of the sonographer scanning to assure that the images are correctly acquired.

Studycast, a web-based ultrasound imaging solution, will then be used to transmit the ultrasound images electronically across the globe to numerous hospitals in the United States. ASE-member physicians will then be able to read the ultrasound studies and transmit their reports back to physicians in India for follow-up and care.

“Remote assessment in real time allows you to do many things, such as teaching sonographers how to improve the quality of their images or focus on certain aspects of a particular examination, leading to better quality,” said the Director of Clinical Echocardiography at Massachusetts General Hospital and Past President of ASE, Michael H. Picard, MD. “The real excitement generated by this project is around the fact that echocardiographic exams can be performed at almost any site in the world, and experts recruited to weigh in on complicated cases that some may only see once in a lifetime.”

‘ASE Global: Focus on India’ is intended as a cross-cultural educational project to showcase the possibilities offered by breakthroughs in hand-held echocardiography technology and cloud-based transmission, while offering participants a unique opportunity to learn from one another and be part of a humanitarian effort to benefit an underserved population.

About ASE

The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) is an organization of professionals committed to excellence in cardiovascular ultrasound and its application to patient care through education, advocacy, research, innovation and service to the public. They are heart and circulation ultrasound specialists dedicated to using ultrasound to improve patients’ health and quality of life. The organization was founded in 1975 and is the largest international organization for cardiac imaging.

For more information please visit their website at http://www.asecho.org

About Studycast

Studycast is the leader in mobile ultrasound imaging and diagnostic testing. Based out of Raleigh, NC, Studycast is used across the U.S. and the world.

Learn more about how Studycast web-based medical imaging solutions can help improve your cardiology practice. Schedule a Demo or call (919) 277-0636!

Cloud storage is a model of networked online storage where data is saved and stored on virtualized pools of storage which are generally hosted remotely by third parties. So instead of saving an ultrasound image to your computer’s hard drive or other local storage device, you save it to a remote database.

Cloud computing refers to the web-based software and technology that provide a platform and access to the remote data. The internet then becomes the bridge between your computer or device, and the database.

Benefits of the Cloud for Medical Imaging Storage and Sharing:

• Cheaper. Cloud services require lower upfront investment because all of the software development and programming has been done already.
• Improved access. Cloud storage is accessible from any device with internet access. This means technicians or physicians in the field using laptops or iPads can access the data they need from virtually anywhere.
• Instant backup. Before cloud storage, backing up important data would be an involved and time consuming process. With the cloud, backup is done automatically and usually in multiple locations at once, ensuring that data cannot be lost if one location is compromised or disaster hits.
• Faster file sharing. Saving ultrasound images onto a CD and mailing it to a physician or other facility can take days or even weeks. Uploading and sending data over the cloud allows for instant sharing.
• Increased collaboration. Faster file sharing and access to the data means better communication from the technicians, physicians and administrators.

Studycast is the leader in SaaS diagnostic testing and medical imaging solutions. Studycast uses the cloud for data storage and to allow technicians access and transmit ultrasound studies 24/7 from virtually anywhere. Traditional methods to transmit diagnostic studies could take up to an hour, while Studycast studies can be transmitted in five minutes or less.

Learn more about how Studycast’s medical imaging solution can work for you. Schedule a Demo or call (919) 277-0636!

Technicians perform thousands of diagnostic imaging procedures every year. Traditionally, these technicians would have to fill out worksheets by hand, manually transposing measurements gathered from the ultrasound which would lead to incorrect numbers because of human error. They would have to spend additional time waiting around for the doctors to come and view the open study and dig through stacks of CDs and videotapes if they wanted to reference earlier studies.

With web-based medical imaging software, however, high quality medical images are delivered fast and appear in the web browser as soon as they’re downloaded. Study data is already populated into the report, reducing the chance for human error as well as reducing time spent having to transpose figures. Voice recognition functionality can also be integrated to help complete the report quickly and without interruption to normal workflow.

Medical imaging software greatly reduces the time it takes to compare current and prior studies, a drain of a reading physician’s time as volumetric datasets increase in size and complexity and become routine.

Another major advantage of web-based medical imaging software is that it can be designed for incorporation into the existing PACS environment. This saves time for all staff involved because the seamless integration doesn’t disrupt workflow.

Completed studies using a web-based medical imaging software can then be easily transmitted with a click of a button. The study is then available for the physician to read on any computer. He or she can then immediately complete the report, reference earlier studies, and provide a faster (if not immediate) diagnosis to the patient.

Studycast is the leader in SaaS diagnostic testing and medical imaging solutions. Studycast uses the cloud for data storage and to allow technicians access and transmit ultrasound studies 24/7 from virtually anywhere. Traditional methods to transmit diagnostic studies could take up to an hour, while Studycast studies can be transmitted in five minutes or less.

Learn more about how Studycast’s medical imaging solution can work for you. Schedule a Demo or call (919) 277-0636!

A mere ten years ago however, teleradiology was used only occasionally by radiologists to interpret studies off-site, like from their home, in emergency situations. They would use their personal computers and relied on dial-up internet connections that could take hours to download a single image.

Fortunately, the introduction of high-speed connections has helped speed up data transfers from one computer to another. Studies and images can now upload and download in a matter of minutes. This has increased opportunity and demand for radiology consults. The occasional 2 x-ray studies per week have quickly become 10 or more per night.

Cloud computing and storage is a fairly recent technology advancement that allows data to be stored on remote servers. This means that images and studies can be uploaded into the “cloud” and accessed from any computer with internet access. This eliminates the need to carry around copies or backups of files or worrying about having specific software installed on your computer. The only thing that is needed is access to the cloud via internet access.

The increase in internet availability has also impacted teleradiology solutions. There are few places left in the world where you can’t receive a WiFi or satellite signal. Radiologists can now access studies not only from their home computers, but from mobile devices and laptops they are using while on the road or doing aid work in foreign countries.

Because of teleradiology, radiologists can send and easily share thousands of images with minimal wait time and a high level of security provided by HIPAA. The results are decreased health care costs, and improved patient care through increased consultation among specialists and colleagues.

Teleradiology solutions continue to evolve as new technologies emerge and healthcare reform shapes expectations. Radiology practices who wish to keep pace, will need to offer a wide range of subspecialists and technology solutions that can handle the increased workloads.

Studycast is the leader in SaaS diagnostic testing and teleradiology solutions. Studycast uses the cloud for data storage and to allow radiologists access and transmit ultrasound studies 24/7 from virtually anywhere. Traditional methods to transmit radiology studies could take up to an hour, while Studycast studies can be transmitted in five minutes or less.

Learn more about how Studycast’s teleradiology solution can work for you. Schedule a Demo or call (919) 277-0636!

PACS is a wonderful breakthrough in medical technology, but like most new technologies, it has its issues that take time and understanding to solve. The following are a few of the most common PACS issues and solutions you can use to fix them.

1. Availability – PACS become too expensive for most facilities to handle on their own. Usually an IT department and staff are needed to support the PACS, which costs money and time that most health facilities have little of. Instead of using a PACS that requires in-house support, opt for a Software as a Service (SaaS) model. SaaS PACS offer support through an outside vendor who specializes in the PACS they built. Usually they are available during typical work hours, if not 24/7. They can also handle any issue remotely without having to interfere with normal workflow of your practice.
2. Communication – PACS reach a wider audience than most administrators realize. Access and exposure is a great thing and overall helps workflow for everyone. At the same time though, the bigger the pool of staff that have access, the more questions and chance for miscommunication can take place. A simple solution is to anticipate misinformation and be prepared to manage accordingly. Your facility or practice should have a communication plan in place for staff to be trained on and fall back on.
3. Network Connectivity – PACS lose their functionality when the network is down. Having an unstable network or connectivity issues with devices can lead to major headaches and lost data. A great solution to this is using a cloud solution (aka web-based) PACS. Sharing files “on the cloud” means that files are stored remotely on a server using an internet, or web-based, platform instead of your own internal network.
4. Speed – Another issue associated with using an internal network to host your PACS is speed. If the network is slow because of too much traffic or not enough storage space, technicians and administrators trying to upload or share studies can get frustrated easily. Web-based or SaaS PACS however, are using an external network and most often can guarantee faster results. It’s important to demo the system for a test run to see upload and sharing speeds first-hand.
5. Implementation Outside of Just Radiology – Imaging and PACS management is no longer limited to the radiology department. In addition to radiology, PACS has useful application in cardiology, vascular health, and women’s health.

Issues with any new technology are inevitable. The important thing is to be prepared and well-informed. It also a good idea to use quality PACS solutions with a customer service and support team who are available to help when needed.

Studycast is the leader in diagnostic testing and web-based PACS. Traditional methods for transmitting ultrasound studies could take up to an hour, while Studycast studies can be transmitted in five minutes or less.

Schedule a Demo or call (919) 277-0636 to learn more.

At the invitation of the Rwanda Heart Foundation, Team Heart began collaborating with Rwanda stakeholders to improve care available to individuals suffering from the effects of this silent disease through two initiatives: by building a program to address the burden of cardiac surgery for those critically ill from progressing disease; and by supporting initiatives to prevent and provide early intervention.

A key initiative of Team Heart’s mission is to place mobile echo machines with trained personnel in critical areas across Rwanda so individuals may be properly diagnosed. Creating a program to support and formalize a training program for sonographers is a big part of this plan.

Team heart conducted 2700 echos using GE and Sonosite ultrasound machines on children aged 9-15 and transmitted the results using Studycast, a cloud PACS offering powerful cardiac imaging reporting tools. Using Studycast, cardiologists in the United States and around the world have access to the images and will complete their echo interpretations. The data collected and analyzed will help Rwanda identify human and financial resources needed to address the leading cause of heart disease and implement preventative measures.

About Team Heart

Team Heart is a non-profit organization working to help Rwanda in building a much needed cardiac surgery program. Since 2007, Team Heart has partnered with organizations to address the burden of rheumatic heart disease in Rwanda. They work to improve care available to individuals suffering from the effects of heart disease by supporting initiatives to prevent and provide early intervention.

For more information please visit their website at http://www.teamheart.org

About Studycast

Studycast is the leader in diagnostic testing and radiology workflow solutions. Traditional methods for transmitting ultrasound studies could take up to an hour, while Studycast studies can be transmitted in five minutes or less.

Learn more about how Studycast web-based imaging solutions can help improve your cardiology practice. Schedule a Demo or call (919) 277-0636!

Reduced Radiology Costs

One of the biggest cost (and time) wasters for radiologists is travel. Teleradiology solutions however, cut out the need for travel. It allows the radiologist to work from anywhere that is most convenient and cost-efficient.

Teleradiology also cuts the costs associated with printing and sharing medical images. Teleradiology harnesses the internet for uploading and sharing of images, so there is no need to buy or supply cds, dvds, film, packaging and postage. Those items individually might cost little, but combined over time they are expensive and wasteful.

Immediate Medical Imaging Results

Since teleradiology solutions eliminate the need for film, cds, dvds, and mailing, the radiologist and reading physician have immediate access to the images over the internet.

Improved Healthcare Access in Rural Areas

Since teleradiology solutions are web-based, their geographical reach is almost limitless. All a technician needs is a mobile device and internet access. Even the most rural and remote communities in the U.S. have these basic requirements.

With this increased reach to rural healthcare facilities comes the opportunity for more technicians and staff to be employed at these sites. Technician jobs no longer have to be based solely in a large city or large hospital. Even the smallest doctors’ offices can have a trained technician on staff who can take the image and share it with a radiologist or specialist somewhere else.

Improved access to rural areas is not only limited to the U.S. In fact, Studycast was recently used by a team conducting screenings on patients in Rwanda. Technicians on-site in Africa performed the screenings and those images were shared with doctors back in the U.S. for analysis.

More Competitive Radiology Program

Hospitals have probably the most to gain from teleradiology solutions. Any hospital, from a small community hospital to a large referral hospital can benefit from the strategic use teleradiology solutions. Reduced radiology costs, immediate imaging results, and improved access all make a hospital more competitive.

Studycast is on the frontier of diagnostic testing workflow solutions. Traditional methods for transmitting radiology studies could take up to an hour, while Studycast studies can be transmitted in five minutes or less. All study data is transmitted along with the images and is automatically populated into Worksheets.

Learn more about how Studycast teleradiology solution can work for you. Schedule a Demo or call (919) 277-0636!