Grand River Hospital has partnered with a KA Imaging, a Waterloo-based company that creates innovative X-ray imaging, to improve existing hospital X-ray technology.
The detector, called ‘Reveal,’ is portable and wireless and has been installed on one of the hospital’s mobile X-ray machines.
The technology produces higher resolution images in a quicker time, and it delivers a more accurate diagnosis. KA Imaging calls it “transformative.”
“We made it easy to read the X-ray image,” said Amol Karnick, president and CEO of KA Imaging.
Unlike a typical X-ray machine, Reveal can separate soft tissue and bone.
“A fantastic example is our chest wall,” said Karnick. “Our rib cage does a great job of protecting our lungs, but when it comes to X-ray, it actually blocks some of the X-ray and makes it difficult to interpret what’s underneath the rib cage. So separating the soft tissue and seeing the soft tissue only, without the over-lining rib structure, we're seeing more. We're seeing pneumonia better, cancers better. And the rib image in the bone image, you can see rib fractures better.”
Grand River Hospital is using the equipment in the Intensive Care Unit to detect pneumonia and for tube and line placement.
“The idea is that the device will go to the patient, rather than the patient being moved,” said Carla Girolametto, director of research, innovation and clinical trials at Grand River Hospital.
Grand River Hospital is one of about 10 hospitals across the world testing the equipment. It’s part of a six-month pilot project where hospitals trial the technology and provide feedback to KA Imaging.
“Our medical imaging department is being instrumental in providing that feedback, real time, real world feedback. Then the company is incredibly accepting and willing to work with us to modify their device,” Girolametto said.
Currently, the pilot is being funded by the Coordinated Accessible National (CAN) Health Network, a federal initiative.
Once the pilot is done, the hospital will determine whether or not it will move forward to purchase the technology.
KA Imaging said the device costs about $80,000.
Girolametto said Reveal is helping improve work flow and ease pressure on staff who are already dealing with a strained hospital system.
