NHS Grampian’s largest hospital, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI), has dedicated resources into making its vascular procedures non-invasive and friendlier for its patient community that spans the cities of Aberdeen right up to the Highlands and Islands.
The installation of an ACUSONTM P300 portable ultrasound system and an ACUSON S2000 ultrasound system from Siemens Healthcare have negated the need for patients to have a CT or MR scan for various vascular procedures. This means there is no dose impact, therefore minimising risk for patients and staff alike.
“The excellent image quality provided by the two systems has allowed us to provide vascular diagnoses and procedures to patients that would have previously required CT or MR input, often as well as an ultrasound scan,” states Linda Sleigh, Clinical Vascular Scientist at NHS Grampian. “This means our elderly or vulnerable patients can benefit from a much faster diagnosis and a non-invasive technique. Also, with the new, high definition systems we can see blood vessels that were not visible before.”
Linda adds, “The purchase of the Siemens S2000 was made possible by additional funding via Dr Mary Joan MacLeod, Stroke Consultant, who arranged for a significant donation to be invested in the equipment after being made aware of the need for a new scanner for the Vascular Lab at ARI. Along with the generous donation, there was a significant input from the clinical and non-clinical management team for the Vascular Unit. The team worked very hard to ensure that everything was done to enable the purchase of the scanner.”
The ultrasound technology sits in the busy Vascular Unit and was chosen in a comparison evaluation against various competitor units. The hospital compared price, manoeuverability, image quality and ease-of-use with the Siemens systems scoring high for the hospital’s needs. It is being used for a variety of procedures including diagnosis of varicose veins, aortic aneurisms and renal access. While the S2000 is a static system, the P300’s portability means it can be taken directly to the patient.
“Aberdeen Royal Infirmary provides a broad range of vascular procedures and diagnoses. The installation of the ACUSON P300 and ACUSON S2000 will greatly aid the hospital in providing a fast and accurate service to patients,” states Brian Kane, Regional Sales Manager at Siemens Healthcare. “The excellent image quality provided by both systems has been offering the clinicians diagnostic confidence as they are able to see fine detail more clearly.”
The P300 design features a small footprint that makes it easy to store and move from room to room. It has a 15-inch XVGA LCD display, integrated power supply and two transducer ports for maximum ease of use. The ACUSON S2000 features high-density element array transducers and delivers clear image resolution, allowing researchers to distinguish fine tissue detail. The system is ergonomically designed for maximum user comfort and flexibility.
Siemens Healthcare is one of the world’s largest suppliers to the healthcare industry and a trendsetter in medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, medical information technology and hearing aids. Siemens offers its customers products and solutions for the entire range of patient care from a single source – from prevention and early detection to diagnosis, and on to treatment and aftercare.
By optimising clinical workflows for the most common diseases, Siemens also makes healthcare faster, better and more cost-effective. Siemens Healthcare employs some 52,000 employees worldwide and operates around the world www.siemens.co.uk/healthcare.
