Hospital gets new imaging system

Seton Health has installed a new, state-of-the-art, web-based medical imaging and information system at St. Mary's Hospital in Troy.

St. Mary's becomes the first hospital in the Capital Region to implement a fully integrated picture archiving and communications system (or PACS), which includes electronic document storage, voice-recognition dictation technology and 3D image enhancement capabilities.

The heart of the system is called Synapse, which enables electronic viewing, transmission, manipulation and storage of diagnostic images that are captured from Seton Health's imaging equipment.

Synapse links magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), ultrasound, digital mammography and x-ray systems into one network.

"Synapse gives physicians instant access to a patient's images from any networked computer, saving time and eliminating the need to manage film," said Patti Nazarko, Seton Health's director of medical imaging. "Radiologists have access to study images immediately and are able to communicate findings moments later to the physician."

The system is especially useful for comparing prior and current images, such as mammograms and MRI. The system also allows for the scanning and storage of documents, including patient questionnaires and permission forms.

Ms. Nazarko estimates that Seton Health will reduce its costs for film by nearly 70 percent annually, an estimated $170,000 in savings.

An additional benefit, she said, is that Synapse's software is so sophisticated that it allows manipulation of the images, including zoom, adjustment of densities, and measurements of anatomy that cannot be as easily viewed on standard film images.

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