A major step forward in remote medical imaging
The Medical University of South Carolina health system (MUSC Health) and Siemens Healthineers have taken another step in their strategic partnership to advance the quality of health care in South Carolina. Effective immediately, MUSC will begin the statewide implementation of Siemens Healthineers’ syngo Virtual Cockpit remote scanning assistance software. The syngo Virtual Cockpit is a software solution designed to assist scan procedures for patients from a distance, eliminating the need to travel greater lengths for health care. MUSC Health will be the first in the state to introduce this new technology.
“With syngo Virtual Cockpit, MUSC is addressing a primary challenge for many health care institutions: providing equal access to quality imaging services in remote and decentralized locations, using technology that also helps to solve for staffing challenges and improve the patient experience,” said David Pacitti, president of Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc. and head of the Americas, Siemens Healthineers. “This is an important step in the value partnership between our organizations and the vision we share for improving health care equity for all patients.”
Using the syngo Virtual Cockpit will allow patients improved access to care and the ability to have MRI scans performed in areas closer to home or work, eliminating the need to travel to a location with a technologist on-site. Patients will be able to have access to virtual cockpits at multiple locations across the state, with a technologist stationed in Charleston to perform the scans from afar in real time. This saves outpatients the time and cost of traveling for an MRI exam. The MUSC Health-Midlands Division will be the first area in the state to implement the innovative system.
“Our goal in our partnership with the Siemens Healthineers team has always been to address fractured and inefficient health care delivery systems. By leveraging this incredible technology across the enterprise, we are ensuring the highest-quality care for our patients while staying on the forefront of imaging advances as the leading academic health sciences center in the state,” said Patrick J. Cawley, M.D., MUSC Health CEO and MUSC executive vice president for Health Affairs, University. “This will allow us to launch advanced cardiac MRI services at campuses that have never been able to perform those studies before as well as reduce patient transfers."
Furthermore, the software will support training for MRI technicians in teaching them how to perform cardiac MRIs and improving imaging quality. By changing working flow, technicians will be able to optimize protocols or perform system changes, and more time can be spent focusing on the needs of their teams and their patients, not travel.
