Barco Coronis 3MP Manual

Bumrungrad International
Bangkok, Thailand
More effective patient care with
premium diagnostic display technology

First-class healthcare
The 554-bed private hospital performs
over 240,000 imaging exams each
year and boasts a fully digital radiology
department with state-of-the-art CR,
Digital Spot Imaging, Digital Subtraction
Angiography, ultrasound, 64-slice MDCT,
1.5T MRI and digital mammography
equipment. The hospital employs 63
radiologists, of which 25 are full-time.
In 2000, Bumrungrad International
became the beta site for the Hospital
Information System (HIS) developed by
Global Care Solutions (Bangkok). One
year later, physicians began requesting
digital images and the decision was
made to invest in PACS. “We had more
patients but also more film and expense,
so we saw this as the best time to
implement PACS,” said Chamaree
Chuapetcharasopon, Senior Associate
Medical Director, who was the chief of
radiology at that time.
PACS was a new technology for Thailand
in 2001. With challenges not typically
faced and addressed by PACS software
developed in the West – namely very
“Image accuracy
was most
important, yet we
were also concerned
with cost, durability,
domestic services
and the reputation
of the medical
display vendor.”
Chamaree Chuapetcharasopon
Senior Associate Medical Director
high patient volumes, restricted fiscal
budgets and regional or cultural language
requirements – the hospital decided to
remain with Global Care Solutions as its
preferred PACS supplier. “Our research
uncovered the fact that next to the
software, the other most important issue
for successful implementation and use
was the selection of reliable and high
quality displays,” Dr. Chuapetcharasopon
added.
Improving the quality of service
Bumrungrad International created a host
of requirements for its medical image
display solution. To ensure the accuracy
of the diagnostic report, the critical
criteria were first the resolution of the
monitor, between 2 and 5 megapixels
(MP), and second the brightness. “Image
accuracy was most important, yet we
were also concerned with cost, durability,
domestic services and the reputation of
the company,” Dr. Chuapetcharasopon
explained. “To maintain and enhance
the quality of our services, we had to be
sure the monitor would provide as good
or better information than conventional
film.”
Thailand is home to one of the leading healthcare providers
in South-East Asia: the internationally renowned Bumrungrad
International. Located in the heart of Bangkok, Bumrungrad is
one of the largest private hospitals in the region. International
patients comprise 40 percent of the one million patients served
annually by Bumrungrad. These patients are not just unfortunate
tourists. They make the trip to Thailand to visit Bumrungrad and
benefit from its high-quality healthcare services at costs that are
substantially lower than in their home country.

Global Care Solutions introduced
Barco’s softcopy imaging technology to
Bumrungrad. Additionally, the company
helped Barco understand the support
and service requirements of the hospital.
Together Global Care Solutions and Barco
worked out the perfect combination of
state-of-the-art technology and first-
class support, which eventually led to the
selection of Barco as preferred medical
display vendor to Bumrungrad. “In our
discussion with Barco, the company was
able to provide in-house training to our
engineering staff and guaranteed timely
delivery of parts when needed,” Dr.
Chuapetcharasopon explained.
Leading technology
Today, Bumrungrad International has
eight sets of dual-head Coronis 3MP
portrait monitors for diagnostic reading.
By the end of 2006, Bumrungrad will
acquire up to four more sets of dual-
head portrait monitors as the number
of procedures continues to increase. In
addition, the facility has a pair of 5MP
monitors for use with Full-Field Digital
Mammography.
“We are able to treat more
patients more effectively than
before.”
An important benefit of the Coronis
monitors is the automated and
intervention-free quality assurance
(QA) and I-Guard technology. I-Guard
is Barco’s front-mounted sensor
that ensures luminance output and
continuous DICOM compliance without
interrupting radiology procedures,
further guaranteeing consistent image
quality over time and across displays.
Coronis offers fully automated image
QA without the need for human
intervention by tracking, maintaining and
logging display viewing performance,
automating QA tasks, initiating display
system calibration and setting up a
precise DICOM Look-Up-Table calibration
using 1024 shades of gray. According
to Dr. Chuapetcharasopon, “It is easy
to perform calibration and schedule QA
tasks with Coronis, which is particularly
valuable with multiple workstation
configurations.”
“The display automatically adjusts the
brightness according to the ambient
light level of the room,” added Dr.
Chuapetcharasopon. Many institutions
have simply substituted view boxes for
LCD monitors without considering the
room setting. “For hardcopy reading,
the brightness of the view box and
quality of film affect the accuracy of the

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radiologist’s findings and subsequent
report. However, with softcopy reading,
brightness of the LCD, quality of the
image acquisition and the ambient light
level of the room are critical factors.”
Treating patients more effectively
For Dr. Chuapetcharasopon and her
colleagues, the quality of Coronis further
increases diagnostic confidence. “With
a reliable, consistent quality across all
workstations, the productivity of the
clinician has improved, even though we
may spend more time magnifying and
examining the image.” She cites that
for the past two years, patient volume
increased 20 percent yearly, yet there is
no corresponding increase in the number
of physicians. “We are able to treat more
patients more effectively than before,”
Dr. Chuapetcharasopon added.
Patient care is enhanced by the
physician’s ability to demonstrate and
explain the procedure directly on a
monitor. Prior to the digitization of
the department, the interventional
radiologist could only provide this
service in the angiography suite, thereby
interrupting the daily caseload. “Since
we can display the entire angiography
series in an interventional radiology
room to the patient and family, there is
a greater understanding of the disease,
the procedure and treatment.”
With PACS, Dr. Chuapetcharasopon can
use the software’s features to enhance
the quality of the image, resulting in
fewer retakes and less radiation dose
to patients. She can also conduct more
advanced treatment planning prior to a
procedure with the digital image versus
one printed on film. “It is also helpful for
in-depth collaboration with colleagues
and as a teaching tool with junior
residents to help them view and detect
lesions.” The reliability of the Coronis
monitors with no downtime experienced
at Bumrungrad further facilitates these
educational experiences.
Future plans include the ICU, ER, OR
and other main areas of the hospital
where physicians will require access to
diagnostic quality images.