Teleassistance in radiology 

The aging of the world’s population is the result of an ongoing decline in fertility rates paired with increased life expectancy. This demographic change means there are more people over the age of 60 [1], resulting in an overburdening of healthcare systems as this population group also tends to need greater medical care. The increasing demand and the complexity of different indications stretches medical radiology technologists to their limits. A new working method provides relief for the clinical team and offers new job opportunities.

AdventHealth is one of the hospitals worldwide affected by what the media has dubbed “The Great Resignation.” Advanced and complicated MRI scans are conducted on their main campus in Orlando, USA, where the experienced technologists are based. This setup developed historically when only the main hospital existed, and the medical technologists were trained conventionally. Things have changed over the last few years, as AdventHealth has been growing and has  established outpatient departments with diagnostic care across the state of Florida. Melissa Petrasko, Vice President of Imaging Services, Central Florida Division at AdventHealth explains: “We came up against barriers as advanced cases could not be performed in smaller campuses. The staff cannot be trained up there because the volume of those campuses was so low that maintaining competency was a criterion for us.” 

An experienced technologist, William Lee, MRI Virtual Specialist at AdventHealth, adds: “Our radiologists could often not perform procedures like cardiac MRI at small sites, as the on-site technologists weren’t comfortable with these complex exams. Because they would see maybe one a month, if that. I see like three or four a week.”

It’s a technology that enables an off-site tech to be connected to multiple sites and to collaborate with up to three scanning workplaces simultaneously. Knowledge can be shared in real time via live video, audio, and a chat function. “Virtual scanning allowed the expert to stay in one location without having to drive to another location and scan the patients without them having to be transferred over,” says Lee. By reducing the need for transport, resources are freed up for other purposes. Patients are given access to nearby scanner sites, which can be scheduled quickly with a shorter wait time.

AdventHealth wanted a solution that eliminated the need to bring the patient to the technology – instead they can now bring the technology to the patient. Virtual technologists are equipped with a laptop and special software so they can scan remotely from any location.²

In 2019, AdventHealth installed the software syngo Virtual Cockpit, which can be used with CT, MR, and MR PET scanners. “Since implementing this technology, we have scanned 1,000 patients already, and haven’t had to repeat a single patient,” says Petrasko. “Previously the rescan rate in smaller campuses was around 40%. This technology enabled AdventHealth to grow its cardiac MRI market share by 38%. And the team loves it.”