Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden fully digitized with PACS from Sectra

The Neuroradiology Department at Karolinska University Hospital, one of Scandinavia’s premier health facilities, today inaugurated its digital operations. Consequently, the four radiology departments at the hospital are fully digitized, all using PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications System) provided by the IT and medical technology company Sectra.

Karolinska University Hospital performs more than 340,000 radiology examinations per year. Digital processing and archiving of images enhances the availability of images, both within and between departments. This contributes to improved patient care through a more efficient workflow. The use of digital image handling systems at Karolinska University Hospital started in 1998 when the Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital (ALB) implemented Sectra PACS. “Our long-term cooperation with Sectra has provided us a safe and efficient solution,” says Lars Johanson, Assistant Chief of the radiology division at Karolinska University Hospital. “At ALB, for example, system availability has been as high as 99.99 percent around the clock since the start in 1998, which must be considered rather extraordinary,” Lars Johanson continues. With the digitization of the Neuroradiology Department at Karolinska University Hospital, all radiology departments in Stockholm County have abandoned the use of film. “In 1998, we installed one of the first PACS in Stockholm. Today, 85 percent of the hospitals in this region use our PACS,” says Marie Ekström, President of Sectra Skandinavien AB.