Philips

The radiation therapy market, hit hard in 2009 by the recession, saw a sharp decline in purchasing from which it has slowly recovered. During the last five years the market has been steadily growing, with capital equipment budgets for radiation oncology sites increasing. However, it has only been within the last year that equipment purchases for radiation therapy have leveled out. Purchasing decisions today are driven by two main factors: advancements in technology, including more targeted treatment, multifunctional capabilities and improved patient safety; and the evolving reimbursement model, which weighs patient outcomes and the quality of care delivered more heavily.

Radiation dose management has come to the forefront of healthcare concerns with both patients and providers advocating for measures that will decrease and manage exposure. Research has shown that medical imaging has doubled the public’s exposure to ionizing radiation since the 1980s, and while this statistic includes fluoroscopy, angiography, mammography and standard X-ray, computed tomography (CT) has contributed the majority of the dose increase. 

Imaging is critical to all medical specialties so it is logical that images should be available to specialists outside of radiology. There is a trend to reduce repeat exams by making images more easily accessible, including prior exams. This traditionally has been accomplished using the cumbersome process of mailing or physically carrying CDs to referring physicians. Often these CDs do not open or take a long time to download. Stage 2 Meaningful Use requirements for certified electronic medical records (EMR) also call for the sharing of medical images electronically to help improve efficiency and reduce healthcare costs. All of these factors have given rise to remote image access systems.