Three Norwegian hospitals invest in digital radiology from Sectra

The IT and medical technology company Sectra has signed a contract with Sørlandet Sykehus HF in Norway. The contract is for the installation of Sectra’s system for handling and archiving of digital radiology images (PACS) at three hospitals in the county of Vest-Agder. The order amounts to NOK 6.5 million.

The hospitals in Kristiansand, Mandal and Flekke fjord will be installing Sectra PACS. The order represents an expansion of Sectra’s existing agreement, under which Arendal Hospital in the county of Aust-Agder is already using the same system. The digitization will contribute to increased and simplified collaboration between the counties’ radiology departments, which after installation will use a common integrated PACS. “Sectra PACS is the natural choice for the hospitals in Vest-Agder for expanding on the existing system in Arendal. By deploying the same system, we are making patients’ radiology images available at all hospitals in the region. This gives us the capability for improved and speedier treatment of our patients and coordination of the hospitals’ personnel resources,” says Kjetil Nyhus, project leader at Sørlandet Sykehus HF. Combined, about 200,000 radiology examinations are performed yearly in the two counties of Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder. Digitalization of radiographic images will facilitate work at the radiology departments and contribute to more efficient and improved health care. Installation of the new system will begin in February 2005. “The order is a natural expansion of our long-term collaboration with the Agder region. We see a trend that more and more regions in Norway are taking advantage of digital technology by implementing a common system for making operations more efficient,” says Steinar Hellum, Sales Manager at Sectra Norge AS.