7,354 research outputs found
Paediatric radiology seen from Africa. Part I: providing diagnostic imaging to a young population
Article approval pendingPaediatric radiology requires dedicated equipment, specific precautions related to ionising radiation, and specialist knowledge. Developing countries face difficulties in providing adequate imaging services for children. In many African countries, children represent an increasing proportion of the population, and additional challenges follow from extreme living conditions, poverty, lack of parental care, and exposure to tuberculosis, HIV, pneumonia, diarrhoea and violent trauma. Imaging plays a critical role in the treatment of these children, but is expensive and difficult to provide. The World Health Organisation initiatives, of which the World Health Imaging System for Radiography (WHIS-RAD) unit is one result, needs to expand into other areas such as the provision of maintenance servicing. New initiatives by groups such as Rotary and the World Health Imaging Alliance to install WHIS-RAD units in developing countries and provide digital solutions, need support. Paediatric radiologists are needed to offer their services for reporting, consultation and quality assurance for free by way of teleradiology. Societies for paediatric radiology are needed to focus on providing a volunteer teleradiology reporting group, information on child safety for basic imaging, guidelines for investigations specific to the disease spectrum, and solutions for optimising imaging in children
The organizational implications of medical imaging in the context of Malaysian hospitals
This research investigated the implementation and use of medical imaging in the
context of Malaysian hospitals. In this report medical imaging refers to PACS,
RIS/HIS and imaging modalities which are linked through a computer network. The
study examined how the internal context of a hospital and its external context
together influenced the implementation of medical imaging, and how this in turn
shaped organizational roles and relationships within the hospital itself. It further
investigated how the implementation of the technology in one hospital affected its
implementation in another hospital. The research used systems theory as the
theoretical framework for the study. Methodologically, the study used a case-based
approach and multiple methods to obtain data. The case studies included two
hospital-based radiology departments in Malaysia.
The outcomes of the research suggest that the implementation of medical imaging in
community hospitals is shaped by the external context particularly the role played by
the Ministry of Health. Furthermore, influences from both the internal and external
contexts have a substantial impact on the process of implementing medical imaging
and the extent of the benefits that the organization can gain. In the context of roles
and social relationships, the findings revealed that the routine use of medical
imaging has substantially affected radiographers’ roles, and the social relationships
between non clinical personnel and clinicians. This study found no change in the
relationship between radiographers and radiologists. Finally, the approaches to
implementation taken in the hospitals studied were found to influence those taken by
other hospitals.
Overall, this study makes three important contributions. Firstly, it extends Barley’s
(1986, 1990) research by explicitly demonstrating that the organization’s internal and
external contexts together shape the implementation and use of technology, that the
processes of implementing and using technology impact upon roles, relationships
and networks and that a role-based approach alone is inadequate to examine the
outcomes of deploying an advanced technology. Secondly, this study contends that
scalability of technology in the context of developing countries is not necessarily
linear. Finally, this study offers practical contributions that can benefit healthcare
organizations in Malaysia
Focal Spot, Spring 1990
https://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/focal_spot_archives/1054/thumbnail.jp
Structured computer-based training in the interpretation of neuroradiological images
Computer-based systems may be able to address a recognised need throughout the medical profession for a more structured approach to training. We describe a combined training system for neuroradiology, the MR Tutor that differs from previous approaches to computer-assisted training in radiology in that it provides case-based tuition whereby the system and user communicate in terms of a well-founded Image Description Language. The system implements a novel method of visualisation and interaction with a library of fully described cases utilising statistical models of similarity, typicality and disease categorisation of cases. We describe the rationale, knowledge representation and design of the system, and provide a formative evaluation of its usability and effectiveness
Focal Spot, Spring 2009
https://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/focal_spot_archives/1111/thumbnail.jp
Focal Spot, Fall/Winter 2010/2011
https://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/focal_spot_archives/1115/thumbnail.jp
Focal Spot, Spring 1993
https://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/focal_spot_archives/1063/thumbnail.jp
Focal Spot, Fall/Winter 1997
https://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/focal_spot_archives/1077/thumbnail.jp
Focal Spot, Winter 2006/2007
https://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/focal_spot_archives/1104/thumbnail.jp
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