Beth Israel Medical Center installing state-of-the-art digital radiology imaging system.

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J.--(HealthWire)--Sept. 25, 1995--New York's Beth Israel Medical Center, the largest provider of inpatient care in New York City, has begun installation of a radiology imaging system that promises to significantly reduce costs and increase quality and productivity hospital-wide.

The system uses a state-of-the-art electronic imaging technology known as PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications System) to capture, transmit, display, and archive diagnostic quality radiology images both campus wide and over longer distances.

"Our plans in radiology include ultimately linking all sites of the Beth Israel Health Care System through state-of-the-art digital imaging. This will provide simultaneous access throughout Beth Israel's facilities to every patient's radiology study," said Dr. Robert G. Newman, President of the Beth Israel Health Care System.

The IMPAX(a) PAC system initially will electronically link four radiology imaging departments and use the latest technological advances to reduce and control film use. The $4 million system was designed and is being installed and supported by Agfa Division, Bayer Corp.

The system will connect four Beth Israel sites in the New York City Metro area -- the Petrie Division, North Division, New York HealthCare Medical Practice, and the Phillips Ambulatory Care Center. The integration of the two inpatient divisions, with 1,200 beds, along with two outpatient centers, creates one of the largest fully digital radiology departments in the world.

"The new Phillips Ambulatory Care Center at Union Square in Manhattan, which is scheduled to open January 1996, is the driving force behind our aggressive implementation schedule," said Dr. Ronald C. Ablow, Chairman of the Department of Radiology at Beth Israel Medical Center. "Our Radiology Department at that site will perform more than 70,000 examinations per year, and will be completely filmless except for mammography."

Radiologists will read images directly from high resolution computer monitors. "We did not undertake this project until we were convinced that there would be no loss of quality and productivity compared to reading films," added Dr. Ablow. "After working with Agfa on this project, I am now convinced that our quality and productivity will actually increase. The system is extremely fast and the resolution excellent."

"While reducing the generation and storage of films is a major factor in the decision to implement a PAC system, the time savings this system provides in terms of moving images from site to site is equally important, especially when one considers New York City traffic," added Marc Katz, Administrative Director of Radiology at Beth Israel. "By electronically transmitting images between facilities, we can reduce the time to interpret images from hours to minutes, providing better service to our patients and providers. It's a win-win for everyone," he added.

The Unix(b) based system allows for multiple simultaneous transactions to occur without affecting other components on the network. Complementing this is an ultra high speed network backbone that can transmit images anywhere in a few seconds. The network, called CDDI (Copper Data Distributed Interface), provides a throughput of up to ten times greater than the Ethernet networks typically used to transmit data. The images are displayed on high resolution workstations that provide more than four times the resolution of standard computer monitors and allow radiologists and clinicians to interpret images directly from the screen. Twenty-one dual screen 2K resolution monitors will be used in Emergency Room, CT, MRI, and Radiology units. An additional 19 dual screen 1K resolution monitors will be found in CT, Ultrasound, Nuclear Medicine, and in the critical care units.

"The Beth Israel installation is one of the largest commercial PACS projects in the U.S. to date, and incorporates technology that not only helps them remain competitive, but provides significant benefits for patients, clinicians, and radiologists as well," says Vishal Wanchoo, V.P. of Marketing -- Agfa's Electronic Imaging Systems. "The feedback we have received from radiologists on our workstation design is excellent. Our ability to integrate with the radiology information system provides the highest level of automation available. With the commitment and support from Beth Israel Medical Center, we have every confidence that the system will meet or exceed the goals initially defined for it," Wanchoo added.

The images are stored locally on high capacity RAID (Redundant Army of Inexpensive Disks) that ensure data integrity and allow for fast access to the data. These 31.5 GB arrays are used in conjunction with the 2K display workstations. Smaller 2.1 and 4.5 GB "Disk Packs" are used in conjunction with the 1K display stations.

Images are input into the system through a combination of industry standard DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications In Medicine) interfaces providing access to 12 bit image data which can then be processed and interpreted in a variety of ways.

Standards are also adhered to in integrating the hospital information system (HIS) with both the radiology information system (RIS) and PACS database managers. Using the HL-7(c) (Health Level Seven) integration standard, the IMPAX system allows for intelligent routing of both images and data, allowing prior and current images and reports to be displayed automatically to the appropriate workstation(s).

"Adherence to standards was a critical factor in our decision making process. We felt that Agfa was considerably more advanced in the implementation of DICOM, HL-7, and other industry standards than other vendors that were initially considered," said Dr. Michael Abiri, Vice Chairman of the Department of Radiology at Beth Israel Medical Center.

For modalities that do not support the DICOM standard, image data is output through Agfa 3000 series gateways that create DICOM-compliant signals. A laser digitizer is used to allow previously filmed images to be viewed on the network. When completed, the system will integrate components from General Electric (GE), Siemens, Advanced Technology Laboratories (ATL), Fuji Medical, Elscint, ADAC, Diasonics, Kodak, 3M, Picker, and Agfa.

The system also incorporates the latest technological breakthroughs, including Agfa's DryStar(a) dry process printer which creates diagnostic quality monochrome and color images without the use of chemicals. The printers provide hard copy output at a fraction of the cost of traditional x-ray or dye sublimation prints and eliminate the problems associated with chemical processing. "Film and film related costs are the second largest expense in the Radiology Department next to labor. The DryStar system not only significantly reduces the cost of hard copy imaging when it is needed, but also eliminates the problems, like chemical storage and disposal, associated with chemically processed film," says Katz.

Images are archived on two 300 platter optical jukeboxes using 1.2 GB M/O (Magneto-Optical) drives, one each at the North and Petrie Divisions. The archive is capable of holding over 2,000 GB (2TB) of data using lossless compression, providing on-line access to images for over three years.

The first components are expected to be on-line in a few weeks, with the balance of the system installation phased in by the end of 1996.

The Agfa-Gevaert Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bayer AG, is a leading worldwide manufacturer of imaging products and systems with annual worldwide sales of $4.5 billion. In the United States, medical imaging products are represented by the Agfa Division of Bayer Corp. with headquarters in Ridgefield Park, N.J. In addition to the IMPAX line of electronic imaging products and DryStar dry process imaging system, Agfa also offers x-ray film and film processing equipment including Curix(a) processors and Scopix(a) laser imagers.

(a) IMPAX, DryStar, Scopix, and Curix are registered trademarks of

Agfa Division, Bayer Corp.

(b) Unix is a registered trademark of AT&T

(c) HL-7 is a registered trademark of Health Level Seven

CONTACT: Agfa Division, Bayer Corp.

Thomas E. Colucci, 201/641-9566 or 201/440-1512 (fax)