Agfa launches second phase of hospital digitization in central Tuscany

12 December 2006

Mortsel, Belgium. Agfa HealthCare has launched the second phase of the Tuscan Medical Technology (TMT) hospital digitization project, in which it will install its integrated radiology information system (RIS) in the hospitals of the central Tuscany region.

The project is part of the larger IDIT project (Informatizzazione della Diagnostica di Immagine in Toscana) , which is part of a contract of partnership between Agfa HealthCare and Area Vasta Centro, the central health region in Tuscany. The contract with Agfa HealthCare was signed in the second half of January 2006. The first phase of the project, which included the installation of Agfa’s CR solutions, has been for a large part successfully completed.

Signing the IDIT contract: at the front on the right is Dr Ruggero Lietti (Agfa Italy General Manager) and in the middle is Dr Luciano Fabbri (Head of Area Vasta Centro).

The central Tuscany region comprises five hospital groups (twelve hospitals in total): the AO Careggi University hospital group, the AO Meyer hospital group, the ASL 10 Firenze hospital group, the ASL 4 Prato Hospital group and the ASL 3 Pistoia hospital group.

The hospitals together total more than 1300 general practitioners and some 180 paediatricians who perform more than 1,300,000 examinations per year.

For the TMT project, Agfa HealthCare formed a temporary consortium, called the Raggruppamento Temporaneo d'Impresa (RTI), to satisfy the requirements of the tender. The consortium aims to improve the delivery of diagnostic imaging services in the region. By linking their radiology departments, the hospitals of the area will be able to share data and imaging across the different healthcare organizations, in this way improving the quality of their service and the delivery of patient care.

The TMT project is one of the most important RIS/PACS projects in Europe, with a total tender value of €45 million. During the first phase of the project, which commenced in March 2006, Agfa HealthCare installed twenty CR digitizers, more than forty NX workstations, two QS Mammo Servers and some twenty-five Drystar printers. In only nine months, more than half of the imaging activities in Tuscany's Area Vasta Centro region were migrated to a fully digital environment and can be integrated in the planned RIS/PACS environment.

The next phase of the project, in which Agfa HealthCare will install its web-based RIS solution in the twelve hospitals of the region, is now starting. The RIS system, when implemented and fully integrated to the hospitals' PACS system, will greatly enhance patient and exam workflow and permit authorized users to access information available anywhere and at any time.

"With an annual average of over one million examinations, it is vital for the medical staff in the Area Vasta Centro region to go digital. It will allow them to increase the operational efficiency substantially. In addition, the installation of Agfa's RIS will result in a considerable cost reduction for the Radiology departments," said Riccardo Ferraris, Sales Manager Agfa HealthCare Italy.

"With this project Agfa HealthCare is recognized for the width of its portfolio," Giovanni Chiodini, Manager IT Division Agfa HealthCare Italy, added. "We are able to deliver the tools for the CR part of the project, as well as the RIS solution and can seamlessly connect these solutions to those of other vendors. Agfa also proves its pioneering role, in terms of its experience and long-term presence in the Italian market."

In the final phase of the project, which is currently planned for July 2008, all twelve hospitals of the Area Vasta Centro region will be linked. This will allow for the entire radiology workflow to be streamlined and improved. As a result, the clinicians in the region will get better information in a faster timeframe, allowing for better patient care.

To top