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RadBook 2013

ITSYSTEMSRAD·BOOK 2013 77 where settings required optimization, where processes could be improved or modalities should be replaced. Although the advantages of imple- menting Sectra DoseTrack have been clear, Region Skåne is still experiencing challenges. Mats Nilsson shares some of his advice: “When working across an entire re- gion as we do, standardization is crucial for efficient follow-up. You must have clear routines in place. Which exams can be reported together, and which should have separate exam codes? How do you name modalities and how, and in which, DICOM tag should the exam code be stored? Warning for abnormal dose levels Sectra DoseTrack is also used to identify incidents where a specific pa- tient has received an abnormal dose level. Thresholds are set in the system and if an exam exceeds those values, the system provides notification. This enables proper follow-up and is in- creasing patient safety. www.sectra.com place anywhere else in the world. The idea was well-received and a project was initiated to realize it. The solution was created in close customer-vendor collaboration. Swedish Healthcare IT Award One year later, the first version of the dose monitoring solution was ready and in 2008, the solution won the pres- tigious Swedish Healthcare IT Award. This was the starting point of what is now Sectra DoseTrack. Region Skåne now collects dose data from some 100 modalities in ten hospitals, including modalities that support the DICOM MPPS standard as well as SR Dose ob- jects. This ensures that modality pro- tocols are adequate and that processes are being followed to achieve doses as low as reasonably achievable. Optimizing dose levels With the data at hand, Region Skåne started comparing the dose levels of various hospitals in the region, the dif- ferent modalities, and the performance of specific modalities over time. This made it possible to identify modalities REGION-WIDEDOSEMONITORING INCREASESPATIENTSAFETYThe number of CT, nuclear, angiog- raphy, and fluoroscopy examinations is rapidly growing. This growth also en- tails a risk for patients of overexposure to radiation, which can induce cancer. Healthcare providers and radiation safety agencies are now focused on this issue. However, automatic dose monitor- ing is not a new topic in Region Skåne – it has been on the agenda since 2003. Region Skåne has not only implement- ed an efficient method for reporting dose levels to the authorities, but is also working continuously to optimize modality dose levels and thereby in- crease patient safety. The project to develop and imple- ment a dose-monitoring solution in the region was initiated by Mats Nilsson, Professor in the Department of Medical Radiation Physics at Skåne University Hospital in Malmö. He saw the need for a more efficient and widespread collection of dose data from different modalities, with the purpose of opti- mizing dose levels. When the project was initiated in 2003, the regulatory demands on dose registration only in- cluded mobile modalities, and it was from these modalities only that the region continuously, and manually, collected dose data. But Mats Nilsson wanted to paint a bigger picture. What if you could automatically register dose data from all modalities? The idea was certainly novel. No such solution was in Skåne University Hospital in Malmö

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