Editor's Comments

by Admin 1. March 2008 14:25

Get the message across

We hear a lot about innovation in the medical technologies sector. But is it technical, service or commercial innovation? Is it science or is it healthcare? Above all, is it good business? This issue of On Target is focused on market access and consumer awareness.

We start by looking at a key area of medtech innovation: the PACS revolution and its value to modern healthcare. Digital imaging, available instantly via the Internet, means rapid and accurate diagnosis, increasing the pace and quality of patient processing. It also assists the transfer of medical data between the hospital, the GP surgery and the community. The rollout of PACS across the NHS is vital to achieving the 18-week target.

The bottom line is that because this technology works effectively in the context of the present-day healthcare system, it is marketable. With this in mind, we follow on with a hard look at what market access really means. Medtech industry expert Trevor Lewis explores a question that can be relied on to make the zealous innovator stop and think: Who is your first customer?

As Lewis explains, the first real customer is “not the favoured clinician who kindly tested your product, your friends or those who will always buy from you,” but rather “an independent prospect who has to be located and sold to, and who buys at the planned price and is serviced by the designed business model.” Finding that customer takes more than a hot new product: it takes the combined skills of product design, marketing, sales, distribution and customer service.

This holistic business perspective is explored further in our interview with Chris Fuller of the Healthcare Design and Technology Institute, who explains the value of consumer awareness to healthcare marketing and sales. Patient choice in the NHS, better-informed patients, the ageing population and the shift of healthcare into the community are all reasons why medtech companies need to target the patient as well as the clinician. As the NHS moves closer to the patient, the industry needs to be one step ahead.

Finally, we look at another organisation concerned with helping medtech companies to access and build markets: Michelle Dalton of Medilink West Midlands discusses her role as a business facilitator and information provider. In a sector where suppliers are as diverse as products, and sales models are as diverse as patient pathways, effective networking is the soul of good business.

Whether we’re talking about new medical technologies, market access, patients or customers, it all comes down to one principle: If you don’t get your message across, you don’t make money. Which is where you, as a healthcare sales or marketing professional, came in. We hope you’ll find much in this issue to inform, inspire and amuse you.

Chris Ross
Editor

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Medtech Features

A Day in the Life

by Admin 1. March 2008 14:23

In the sixth of our series of interviews with healthcare industry professionals, On Target talks to Michelle Dalton, Communications Director at Medilink West Midlands, about her role in providing commercial opportunities to the industry.

Medilink West Midlands is a membership-based organisation that helps businesses in the medical and healthcare sector to succeed by providing networking platforms, market intelligence, commercial opportunities and personal introductions.

How would you define your role?

Varied! My role is divided between providing expert guidance to members and marketing the services offered by Medilink West Midlands to attract new members and public sector funding for specific projects.

Communications have a major part to play in the medical sector – ensuring that new ideas gain press coverage, companies diversifying into the market communicate in the right way to the right people, and each manufacturer punches above its weight. It’s up to my team to make sure our members know how to achieve this, and to raise the profile of the region’s medical technology sector and increase awareness of UK manufacturers in the global supply chain through PR, advertising and exhibitions.

What happens in your typical working day? What challenges do you face?

My typical day tends to resemble a whirlwind, as I move from member analysis meetings to staff updates to agency briefings, juggling emails and phone calls as I go. The pace is fast and attention to detail is paramount, so a constant challenge is to move from the ‘big picture’ to the small minutiae – making fast strategic decisions while fine-tuning the wording on a new banner.

From advising a company on the best ways to raise its profile to launching a new membership package, my day is all about communication – the written word, the oral briefing, the right creative image, listening, understanding and even translating from manufacturing language to medical lingo.

As well the challenge of juggling so many different priorities and managing a team (not to mention looking after a young child at home!) I’m constantly looking for new commercial opportunities for members, either by spotting synergy between companies or by identifying appropriate tenders. We try to look beyond the obvious and use our market expertise to see how our members can take advantage of every situation, especially if it is not their usual approach or typical way of doing business.

What are the most satisfying and the most frustrating aspects of your work with medtech companies?

It’s so satisfying to meet companies who recognise and embrace the huge potential within the medical market. Across the UK, many entrepreneurs are willing to take risks and innovate, using their company’s core skills and specialist processes to meet the needs of the health services. Helping these companies to fulfil their potential, diversify into markets and launch new products through partnerships we help set up is hugely rewarding.

I’ve learned that the everyday stresses and requirements of business can sometimes stifle the entrepreneurial spirit and I view MedilinkWM’s role as that of a mentor, giving a new perspective and helping companies to see where they can afford to think differently.

There are many ‘foot in the door’ opportunities where tenders for specific projects come up, giving companies with related services the chance to begin a conversation with key purchasing decision-makers. It can be frustrating when businesses are reluctant to pursue these more speculative approaches, but it’s even more rewarding when they lead to real sales success.

How can medtech companies reach out more effectively to potential collaborators and the market?

It’s important that medtech companies are flexible when dealing with equipment manufacturers or health service providers. With ever-changing regulations, targets and media hysteria shifting government agendas, making your approach to the right person at the right time is essential.

By networking effectively, medtech companies can start to work with each other to share techniques, processes and ideas, developing new products that meet the needs of the global health market.

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Medtech Features

Let’s get together

by Admin 1. March 2008 14:22

‘Partnership’ is a powerful new buzzword in the medtech industry – especially where the NHS is concerned. Katherine Woods of Meeting Magic offers some guidelines for meetings to set up successful partnerships.

There is a growing demand in the healthcare industry for partnership meetings, i.e. meetings between different organisations who intend to work together. When I look at the partnership meetings I have been involved in, I can see that this increased demand is being driven by three factors:
• Integration of customer/supplier relationships as companies drive towards long-term, mutual business relationships.
• The need for greater innovation in all sectors, so that companies combine their forces to develop more creative solutions.
• Outsourcing of non-core functions as businesses keep their organisational structures lean.

Making connections

The Oxford English Dictionary definition of ‘partner’ is: 1. person who shares or takes part with another or others esp. in a business. 2. companion in dancing. 3. player (esp. one of two) on the same side in a game. 4. either member of a married or unmarried couple.

These definitions all imply substantial relationships that require investment of time to get right, whether for dancing or tennis! However, all too often business people talk about ‘working in partnership’ or ‘working together’ without really being prepared to undertake the commitment required to build a genuine partnership.

If we look at the relationship between NHS procurement and medtech companies, we could contrast the classic sales model (the selling of packages) with the modern sales model that has moved towards a more customer-centric approach through the provision of customer service, product training etc.

True partnership comes from a deep mutual understanding that allows both companies to work in an integrated manner, as if they were parts of the same company. However, this requires both parties to invest time. Often superficial partnerships are developed from discussions based around tactical actions without any real understanding of how the two parties can work together. These superficial relationships tend to break up if any problems occur, as there is not sufficient mutual understanding to work through and solve them.

A strong foundation

To give a solid foundation to a partnership, it is important for both parties to take time to understand the context within which they are working by sharing information. This can be done effectively in a meeting involving key people who will be responsible for making the partnership work from both sides.

The kind of information that is most useful to share in an initial meeting relates to:
• Organisational structure – who is responsible for what, especially with regard to decision making.
• Organisational goals – to provide an understanding of the direction you are both heading in.
• Key strategies that are driving you towards these goals.
• Organisational culture or ways of working that are likely to impact on the partnership.

This information is best shared in a conversational way, with little use of presentations. When presentations are made, the presenter inevitably needs to make assumptions about what the audience knows already and still needs to know. By having a conversation, you allow both parties to find out the information they need, and it is likely that any assumptions will be uncovered and resolved.

Once this contextual information is understood, the parties involved in the partnership can work side by side to explore the shared opportunities. At this stage, the key is to:
• ensure the identified opportunities are mutually beneficial
• talk about barriers as well as opportunities.

On the record

The final stage of the partnership meeting is to identify the detailed actions that need to happen in order to move the partnership forward. In action planning, the usual good meeting practices apply:
• Ensure the actions are clear and written up publicly during the meeting – for example, on a flip chart. This allows complete transparency about what is being agreed.
• Be clear about the deliverables required from the actions.
• Ensure that all actions have owners, preferably one person responsible for progressing the action.
• Ensure that all actions have timeframes.

The final thing to consider in an initial partnership meeting is the documentation of what has happened. It is useful to capture the key points made in discussion during the meeting, so that the group has a reference source to come back to. This can be done most effectively by writing the points onto a large chart in the course of the meeting.

At Meeting Magic we use large pieces of paper (1.25m by 3m) taped onto the wall to record the key points of the discussion. These charts are kept visible throughout the meeting for people to refer to, and are then photographed to provide documentation that reflects exactly what happened.

Often superficial partnerships are developed from discussions based around tactical actions without any real understanding of how the two parties can work together. These superficial relationships tend to break up if any problems occur, as there is not sufficient mutual understanding to work through and solve them.

A lasting bond

While strong customer/supplier relationships cannot be built in a single meeting, by taking the approach outlined above you can create a really solid foundation and a momentum for action. This means that the partnership is far more likely to develop – and that when (as inevitably happens) problems are encountered, the business relationship is strong enough to overcome these problems while allowing the partnership to remain intact.

Katherine Woods is a Director of Meeting Magic Ltd, which specialises in facilitating all kinds of meetings, large and small, across a diverse range of sectors. It aims to ensure that the client meetings it facilitates deliver the required outcomes in the time available and gain commitment to the decisions made. Its clients include the NHS and various Government departments, as well as Mars, PepsiCo and Microsoft. More guidance on making meetings effective is available in the book Meeting Magic – a practical guide for business managers who want to make their meetings productive by Katherine Woods and Ingrid Uden, which can be purchased from www.meetingmagic.co.uk and www.amazon.co.uk.

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Medtech Features

The burning question

by Admin 1. March 2008 14:20

How important is consumer awareness for medtech?

On Target asks Chris Fuller of the Healthcare Design and Technology Institute (HDTI) at Coventry University why medtech companies need to build consumer awareness into their marketing and sales strategy.

Why is it becoming more important for medtech companies to focus their marketing on the consumer (or patient) as well as the clinician?

Historically, medical device product development has been undertaken by companies with the involvement of healthcare practitioners and clinicians, but with little reliance on the input of patients’ views. This will need to change as a number of factors affect the market for medical devices:
• Increasingly, the NHS recognises that the patient should have choice about the timing and location of service delivery – and this will expand to include the selection of products. Product choice can be understood easily in the context of a mobility aid, for example, but it will apply to more complex products as patients demand more justification from their healthcare professionals. As we gain knowledge of the benefits and shortcomings of specific product designs, it becomes essential for the clinician to select a product for the unique situation of each patient. Medical device companies need to guide their professional customers through the patient-related benefits of their products.
• Patients as consumers are increasingly better informed as electronic communication media help them to get up-to-date feedback in a real-life context on proposed treatments. The Internet is revolutionary in this context: older patients are increasingly at ease with this technology, and are prepared to discuss treatment and care options with their clinician or healthcare professional.
• With increasing affluence, especially among older people, patients are less willing to accept a lowest-cost, low-performance solution for their healthcare needs and are willing to pay to secure an improved quality of life. The role of adults in the provision of healthcare for their elderly parents should also be recognised. This has particular resonance in the field of remote monitoring, where family members may be prepared to pay for products and services to be reassured that a crisis can easily be recognised and remedied.
• Social care budgets are coming under strain, with provision from local authorities falling to only a basic level. As a consequence, patients and carers are seeking to buy their own product solutions. Assisting this process, there are more and more accessible places, such as high-street pharmacies and dedicated rehabilitation retail outlets, where products can be sourced by consumers.
How important is the shift in the NHS healthcare model from secondary care to primary and community care in driving this change?
The NHS recognises that the bulk of healthcare costs are incurred by patients who have a long-term condition. These patients are best managed in the home environment, for their own benefit and to minimise their impact on secondary facilities.

It follows that the supplied products and services must be right for the unique situation of each patient, taking into account factors such as patient mobility, the housing environment and the nearness of assistance. Again, patients and their carers will have views about various products and services, and may elect to pay for additional specification of healthcare provision.
How relevant is the marketing and sales model for consumer healthcare to products made available through the NHS?
The leading consumer healthcare companies, such as Procter and Gamble (with brands such as Vicks), have an inherent business culture whereby they understand that consumer selection decides the success or failure of a product offering. This business model will increasingly be the essence of success as the factors outlined above come into play.

Patients as consumers will demand choice, and will not just accept a single given solution. Use of the media by companies to communicate product benefits, and accessibility to products via convenient supply channels, will underpin this.
How can a consumer focus at the product design stage of a medical device pay dividends at the sales stage?
A patient- or consumer-focused approach will ensure that a new medical device is used correctly and with the maximum benefit, with the treatment being delivered successfully and reliably to the patient.

For example, we have seen emerging product development within the design of mobility products and accessories over recent years, as manufacturers have understood that different user groups have different requirements and priorities within a basic wheelchair product design.

‘Sales professionals are alert to changes in product usage by their customers and to competitor developments; they should convey this market intelligence regularly to their product development teams.’

What can sales professionals learn from the product development team, and what can they feed back to it?
The product development team should understand not only the technology within the product, but also how the complete product is used by patients in real life. This information, and comparisons with competitors, can be used by sales professionals to ensure that the customer selects the best product for their needs. Conducting well-run trials with a reputable third party, such as a university, will ensure that the product comparisons stand up to scrutiny.

Sales professionals are alert to changes in product usage by their customers and to competitor developments; they should convey this market intelligence regularly to their product development teams, who can evaluate how existing and developmental products will perform in the new environment.

Coventry University’s new Health Design & Technology Institute (HDTI) has been set up to help companies find community healthcare solutions to meet the changing needs and expectations of patients with long-term conditions. For more information, visit www.coventry.ac.uk/hdti.

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Medtech Features

News Companies & Careers

by Admin 1. March 2008 14:18

A design for life science

SIEMENS HEALTHCARE DIAGNOSTICS is to move part of its operation from Los Angeles to its Llanberis facility in north-west Wales.

The company will double its UK production capacity with the expansion of its Gwynedd biotech factory, providing 192 extra jobs over the next 18 months. Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics is closing down its Los Angeles facility to concentrate manufacturing and distribution at Llanberis.

Steve Britton (OBE), Managing Director of Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, commented: “We plan to double our production capability by hiring new employees and adding highly-automated equipment without expanding the footprint of the facility.” The move, he said, would secure operations at the site for the “medium to long term”.

Welsh Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said: “The decision by the Siemens board to concentrate manufacturing at Llanberis is a truly remarkable tribute to the quality of the local team – and a telling testimonial to the competitiveness of Wales as a great place to do business.”

The biotech factory at Gwynedd opened as Euro DPC in 1992, and was purchased by the Siemens group in 2006. The site manufactures and distributes diagnostic reagents used in hospitals and clinics worldwide.

Telecare service gains TSA approval

AID CALL PERSONAL CARE, an arm of the charity Age Concern, has been officially recognised as a dedicated service provider in the telecare sector.

Aid Call Personal Care, which has achieved premier membership with the Telecare Services Association (TSA), operates a customer response centre for its emergency personal alarm service.

Formed in 1998, the TSA is the representative body for the telecare industry in the UK. Member organisations seeking accreditation to its Code of Practice undergo a rigorous initial inspection, followed by annual checks.

Aid Call Personal Care first achieved compliance with this Code in 2004. After a successful 2007, with an average of 44,000 calls dealt with each month, the organisation has been recognised as a premier member of TSA.

Chris Last, Interim COO of Aid Call Personal Care, said: “We are proud and thrilled that our expanding organisation has once again been recognised for our dedication to the telecare industry... We gained status with Investors in People back in 1996, and have many examples of people training, developing and building careers with us.”

Aid Call gains TSA accreditation

Aid Call Personal Care was one of the UK’s largest private sector suppliers of telecare systems before being acquired by Age Concern in 1997. Over 40,000 people in the UK rely on the Aid Call emergency alarm service.

New recruiter at Delta Consultants

DELTA CONSULTANTS, the scientific and medical recruitment agency based in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, has appointed Natasha Lambert to its specialist recruitment team.

Natasha comes to Delta with two and a half years’ recruitment experience gained within the healthcare industry, dealing with permanent and temporary assignments for all levels of care and qualified staff. She will be recruiting across all areas of sales, support and marketing within the Medical and Scientific Divisions.

Ian Pinn, Operations Director for Delta, commented: “Natasha brings us proven recruitment skills and new ideas in a time when business is buoyant, and allows Delta to be more effective in providing our clients with the high level of service they expect from us.”

Natasha will be helping to continue the success of Delta Consultants in its 20th year. Natasha Lambert

New medtech voice for East of England

A NEW ORGANISATION has formed to promote the international reputation and commercial success of medtech and biotech in the East of England.

ERBI, the region’s biotechnology facilitator, has been appointed to head a new initiative called ERBI Medilink. ERBI has already led the local biotech cluster to become number one in Europe.

Barnaby Perks, an experienced marketing professional in the medtech sector, has been appointed as Director of ERBI Medilink, while Anya Haddock will be its Administrator.

ERBI Medilink will incorporate the 100 members of Medilink East. Perks said: “We aim to significantly add to the benefits ERBI Medilink members can receive under the new set-up. We aim to support the growth of globally competitive medtech business in the East of England in the same way that ERBI has supported the biopharmaceutical industry.”

Perks will extend the membership of ERBI Medilink to include not only companies but also academics and clinicians. He said: “Medical technology is already a key factor in the East of England economy, and has developed as a significant force almost unnoticed. We believe the payback can be even greater going forward.

Barnaby Perks

“We need to get all the different elements of the sector integrated under the new ERBI Medilink banner and working together towards a common goal.”

UK Healthgateway appoints Lord Warner

HEALTH MARKET ACCESS SPECIALIST UK Healthgateway Ltd has appointed Lord Warner, a former Health Minister, as Non-Executive Chairman.

Founded in 2007, UK Healthgateway helps medical equipment and device manufacturers to gain commercial success by steering them through regulatory, marketing, sales and distribution processes.

Roy Lilley, Director of UK Healthgateway, said: “I am very pleased to welcome Lord Warner to the Board. He has a wideranging experience of the NHS, its services and the organisations that supply it, alongside an unparalleled understanding of the processes and procedures required for market entry success. He will be a much valued member of our Board.”

Lord Warner commented: “I have always been interested in ensuring that the NHS both finds innovation and embraces it. UK Healthgateway is a unique venture which benefits both innovators and patients, and I am delighted to be joining as chairman. These are very exciting times both for the business and for the NHS.”

UK Healthgateway’s worldwide client base comprises manufacturers of medical devices and equipment who are keen to access the UK health market. With a large network of associates covering sales, marketing, clinical, regulatory and financial disciplines, the company works closely with NHS purchasing and clinical agencies.

G2 expands into contract market

SPECIALIST HEALTHCARE SALES RECRUITMENT consultancy G2 Sales Recruitment has strengthened its business offering with the addition of Contract Sales Services and the launch of a new website.

These initiatives follow last year’s decision by G2 to focus its portfolio exclusively on healthcare.

“We recognised a need for a consultancy that could offer sales and marketing recruitment solutions dedicated to the healthcare industry,” said Paul Budd, Division Manager at G2. “Developments here have been geared towards providing those solutions and delivering services tailored to the industry’s needs.”

The expansion into contract sales has been driven by the changing dynamics of the healthcare sector, which has seen a growing number of companies requiring a flexible sales resource. “The pharmaceutical sector is familiar with a contract approach, but it’s a relatively new concept in healthcare,” said G2’s Nick McCoy. “Many of the organisations currently offering this solution are focused around the pharmaceutical environment. But healthcare is different. By offering dedicated services, G2 believes it can add experience and knowledge to drive forward opportunities within healthcare.”

G2 Sales Recruitment has already secured a preferred supplier agreement with one global healthcare organisation and additional contracts with companies who have not previously utilised the contracting approach. G2 also still offers permanent sales recruitment. For more information, visit www.g2sr.com.

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Medtech Features

On Target Events

by Admin 1. March 2008 14:15

Medilink UK National Health Technology Awards

The UK’s most innovative and enterprising healthcare companies were recognised at the Medilink UK National Health Technology Awards, held at MedTec 2008 in Birmingham on 13 February 2008.

MedTec (formerly MDT) is an annual congress and exhibition for medical technology design and manufacturing companies. It brings together suppliers of cutting-edge medical device components, product designs and regulatory advice with networking organisations and potential clients in the medtech industry.

The National Health Technology Awards event, held at the NEC, saw a panel of judges from every region of the UK select the best of the Regional Medilink Award Winners in five categories: Innovation, Growth in Sector, Business Start-Up, Export Achievement and Partnership with the NHS.

Winning ways

The Health Technologies KTN ‘Innovation’ Award was won by medical lighting specialists Brandon Medical Company Ltd for Symposia, the world’s first fully integrated medical televideo system for healthcare. The Yorkshire company has created an IP-based, open-ended platform that allows complete integration of any medical video source, providing full collaborative working between clinicians across any distance.

ImmunoDiagnostic Systems (IDS) Ltd, a manufacturer of specialist manual diagnostic kits for bone diseases, won the Jonathan Lee Recruitment ‘Growth in Sector’ Award. IDS, based in Tyne & Wear, achieved a turnover growth of 49.6% in 2006 and 22.3% in 2007 driven by the establishment of new subsidiaries in key global markets, seeing the business rise to an annual turnover of around £7.13m.

The Clinical Services Journal ‘Start-up’ Award went to Sleepworks Products Ltd, which produces ‘Snorkil’: an over-thecounter anti-snoring device. In its first year of trading, Sleepworks (based in Wales) has had strong sales in the UK as well as opening up new markets in Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Thailand.

The winner of the UKTI ‘Export Achievement’ Award was Hart Biologicals Ltd, which has developed new markets in Germany, the USA and Spain, increasing its turnover by 47%. The County Durham-based manufacturer of clinical diagnostic products has succeeded in two of the world’s most demanding export markets: the USA and Germany.

The NHS National Innovation Centre ‘Partnership with the NHS’ Award was won by Peacocks Medical Group Ltd for its work with the Diabetic Clinic in Newcastle over the past eight years. This partnership has seen the company’s pressure-relieving diabetic footwear reduce the number of amputations by 45%.

Talking technology

Graeme Hall, Managing Director of Brandon Medical, said: “It is fantastic to have our achievements in innovation recognised not only at a regional level, but also in a national competition such as the Medilink UK awards.”

Malcolm Pattinson of Hart Biological praised the role of industry networking organisations: “We were very pleased to win the regional award through the CELS Healthcare Network, and then to be a national winner is overwhelming. The Medilink UK network is important to be part of, as it brings together the healthcare community and allows you to meet and partner with other companies through networking.”

Colin Peacock of Peacock Medical drew particular attention to the role of the Centre of Excellence for Life Sciences (CELS): “We’re absolutely delighted to receive this recognition, which can only work to develop our company further. CELS have been extremely supportive – for example, in helping us to export. Without CELS we wouldn’t have been able to take such a large step.”

The Chairman of Medilink UK, Kevin Kiely, summed up this key event for the medtech sector: “These awards exemplify the level of excellence achieved by the UK’s health technology companies and the contribution they make, not only to the regional and national economy, but also in enhancing the quality of patient care.”

Winners of the 2008 Medilink UK National Health Technology Awards

Winners of the 2008 Medilink UK National Health Technology Awards

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Medtech Features

News Products

by Admin 1. March 2008 14:14

The adoption of Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) by the NHS and other healthcare providers has transformed the diagnostic imaging field in the UK. On Target asked NHS Connecting for Health and two leading suppliers of PACS technology what the digital revolution means for clinicians, patients and the medtech industry.

A changing view

Dr Erika Denton, Medical Director for the national PACS programme and the Department of Health’s lead for diagnostic imaging, explains how digital technology is transforming these areas of the NHS.

NHS Connecting for Health (NHS CfH) is supporting the NHS in delivering the National Programme for IT (NPfIT), which aims to provide better, safer care to patients via new computer systems and services that link GPs and community services to hospitals.

A key aim of NPfIT is to give healthcare professionals access to patient information safely, securely and easily, whenever and wherever it is needed. By creating a multi-billion pound infrastructure, NPfIT will enable clinicians and other NHS staff to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of patient care.

Saving time and space

PACS allows medical images such as X-rays and scans to be stored and viewed electronically. Health professionals can compare new and previous images instantly, viewing them on screen. This is especially good news for patients with long-term conditions, because consultants can quickly and easily monitor changes in the patients’ condition by comparing new images with old.

PACS delivers more efficient imaging and diagnostics processes for patients, improving the quality and speed of their treatment. Images no longer need to be transported by hand, meaning fewer delays caused by hard-copy film images being lost or misplaced. PACS is thus helping to achieve a maximum 18-week wait from referral to the start of treatment.

National PACS progress

While some trusts already had PACS, and others were looking to acquire the system, there was no real momentum for implementing PACS nationally prior to NPfIT. Since the PACS programme began in 2004, it has worked closely with the strategic health authorities, individual trusts and IT service providers to ensure that trusts can experience the benefits of PACS as quickly as possible.

NPfIT has deployed the necessary resources to drive PACS forward nationally, secured contracts with local service providers at competitive, market-driven prices and supported clinical engagement by working closely with practising clinicians and the relevant professional bodies.

The final trust to receive PACS as part of NPfIT was Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust on 10 December 2007, marking the completion of a three-year process that has seen 127 trusts across England receive PACS.

In the coming months the programme is planned to move forward on a number of fronts, such as improved sharing of images and reports across trusts and regions, links with independent sector treatment centres, and the extension of PACS into new clinical specialties.

Scanning the horizon

Aside from PACS, a number of policy drivers will influence the development of imaging services in the near future. These include:
• The Stroke Strategy – this requires all patients with a suspected stroke who may benefit from thrombolisis to have a CT head scan within an hour. For those with a possible transient ischaemic attack, imaging with diffusion-weighted MR is recommended within 24 hours. These changes will have a major effect on the imaging workforce, particularly out of hours. Suppliers will probably be looking to support training of imaging staff to acquire and report these images.
• The Cancer Reform Strategy – there is a commitment to move to digital mammography for screening. This has implications for equipment suppliers and PACS storage.
• Care closer to home – diagnostic imaging services located in primary care or in polyclinics will change the face of imaging. More basic equipment will probably be purchased in the community, with high-end equipment remaining in secondary and tertiary care.
• Hand-held ultrasound – the advent of smaller devices brings ultrasound into mainstream diagnostics in the hands of the non-radiologist/ radiographer workforce. It is likely that in the coming years, all doctors will have some ultrasound skills.

The big picture

Rob Musson, Business Director at Eizo, discusses the application of PACS to NHS and private healthcare systems.

The move from film to a digital environment is happening across the medical profession, and to varying degrees in many countries across the developed world. However, what some hospitals have missed – partly or in a few cases completely – reminds me of the age-old saying: “You can’t be a part-time virgin!”

Translated into PACS, once an image is originated digitally it will remain digital and need to be viewed electronically by anyone who needs access to it, whether for clinical diagnosis or a progress review.

Displays suitable for clinical diagnosis have to meet tough criteria and will need ongoing quality control to ensure they are set up correctly. Many hospitals plan their PACS around a networked system using diagnosticquality displays. What they miss, however, is that a fully networked hospital will allow users access to images from anywhere on the network. This means that any member of staff who has been authorised to access the images can do so anywhere, including from workstations that do not have diagnostic-quality displays.

The challenge, therefore, is to plan for the wider adoption of PACS with a strategy that puts the education of users alongside a strategic deployment of the correct grade of displays designed to meet the user’s needs at each location.

Central control

Eizo displays

Eizo realised early on that hospitals would need different displays to meet the clinical and budgetary needs of these various groups of users, and developed a full range of displays for this purpose.

However, this was only part of the story. As the demand for PACS grows, so does the need to ensure that quality standards are maintained at all locations around the hospital campus. It would be easy to recruit and pay for a group of technicians to perform regular quality checks on a milk round, but that is costly and the records need to be maintained and accessed to provide reports when necessary. To help with this, Eizo developed a product that pulls all the records from each workstation into a central database that can be accessed by anyone with appropriate security and access to the network. The Eizo engineers built an interface to couple this to the client software that runs on every workstation using Eizo monitors.

With this software the hospital can manage its entire PACS real estate, checking how its assets are performing against its quality control criteria. Some Eizo monitors have new additional features that can predict the life expectancy of the backlights, based on current usage. This allows a hospital to schedule its service rather than wait to receive a call from an irate doctor who has just been informed by a technician that they can’t use their workstation. It means having a display that can predict when it will need a major service.

The move from film to a digital environment is happening across the medical profession. However, what some hospitals have missed – partly or in a few cases completely – reminds me of the age-old saying: “You can’t be a part-time virgin!”

Holistic approach

Eizo has recently started to work with the PACS team at Spire Healthcare, who realised from the outset how a PACS network can grow as the users start to reap the benefits of going digital. Knowing this, the Spire Healthcare team took a step back from the routine and planned for the future, taking the time to develop and categorise the users across the hospital network.

They then came up with a specification for each type of user. This took into consideration all of the user’s aspects and their particular department and discipline. They categorised these to form several workstation specifications. They also realised the importance of user buy-in, involved a cross-section of their user community, and developed the training plans alongside the rollout plans.

With PACS, factors such as compatibility with current IT platforms’ support for open standards are just as important as clinical parameters when making a choice of diagnostic display vendor.

Working together with Carestream (who provided their PACS software) and the medical team at Eizo, they were able to build in a quality control package to provide the essential monitoring and recalibration remotely, obviating the need for additional technicians.

This holistic approach to a large PACS rollout saves money when compared to the piecemeal approach that can result from starting small and adding as budgets and user acceptance grow.

A new paradigm

Richard Wilks, Sales Manager for Specialist Displays at NEC Display Solutions, discusses the implications of PACS for diagnostic imaging companies.

The ‘Connecting for Health’ PACS programme has revolutionised the diagnostic imaging sector since its launch three years ago. Almost all hospitals in England now have instant digital access to images that are created on a range of modalities, from CT and MRI to plain film. Consultant radiologists can create their diagnosis more quickly and accurately, with the results being instantly accessible to consultants, surgeons and nurses.

Until the introduction of PACS, on-site processed and duplicated film would be kept in vast storage areas and could be easily lost or destroyed. Now reporting rooms, operating theatres, A&E departments, intensive care units and clinics have all been fully equipped with pre-calibrated LCD flat panel displays that give a level of viewing quality not previously available to the clinicians.

Selling PACS technology

NEC is one of the largest manufacturers of LCD technology used in the production of diagnostic displays. NEC has produced a broad range of image-viewing LCD products from 19-inch to 65-inch displays, allowing NHS Trusts to deploy a single manufacturer’s products in all departments that require access to PACS.

NEC has developed a strong portfolio of quality assurance and quality management software for all displays, which allows Trusts to meet clinical governance guidelines and significantly reduce their ongoing maintenance costs. Through sponsorship and exhibiting at radiology specialist groups, forums and Trust open days, NEC has enabled clinicians and IT staff to make informed decisions over their choice of PACS display vendor.

The PACS revolution has narrowed the gap between IT and radiology. In the past, traditional film-based diagnostic systems were chosen primarily by consultant radiologists and imaging directorates with little or no input from the IT department. With PACS, factors such as compatibility with current IT platforms’ support for open standards are just as important as clinical parameters when making a choice of diagnostic display vendor. NEC has simplified the purchasing process and reduced initial cost outlay for NHS Trusts by offering industry-standard technology that is marketed using simple IT terminology.

Improving patient experience

NEC is helping to shape how technology is used in the NHS. For example, in cancer centre networking, NEC’s large-format LCD and projector technology (deployed by NEC’s video-conferencing partners) allows consultants and patients to keep in touch with each other without needing to travel, which significantly reduces costs and frees up consultants’ time.

As hospitals compete for patients, NEC’s digital signage LCD displays improve the customer experience in hospital through real-time patient information and touch screen-based interactive way-finding. NEC has introduced a range of affordable display solutions specifically for PACS, allowing IT departments to deliver quality-assured digital images wherever they are required in the hospital.

t+ Medical and LifeScan team up to manage diabetes

A SUPPLIER OF TELEMEDICINE SOLUTIONS for long-term conditions has partnered with a manufacturer of blood glucose meters to help people with diabetes monitor their blood glucose control effectively.

Telemedicine company t+ Medical has developed a system that takes data from LifeScan blood glucose meters and wirelessly transmits it to a central database, where it is analysed and displayed in the form of simple graphs that can be viewed on the patient’s mobile phone or personal computer.

LifeScan’s UK sales force will represent t+ Medical for sales and marketing with PCTs in the UK and Ireland.

Tim Clover, CEO of t+ Medical, said: “This agreement brings together two highly complementary technologies and offers improved clinical outcomes and services to patients, while creating the opportunities for substantial savings for healthcare providers. Lifescan will be able to expand our commercial efforts by several orders of magnitude while still collaborating on developing the product further and investing in clinical trials.”

LifeScan and t+ Medical system

t+ Medical exclusively uses LifeScan’s One Touch® Ultra® System to obtain blood glucose readings. This small device provides accurate test results in 5 seconds and lets patients enter key information.

For more details, visit www.tplusmedical.com.

Cancer screening closer to home

THE INHEALTH GROUP, a provider of diagnostic and imaging services, has installed the first of four PET•CT systems from Siemens into mobile vehicles.

Thirteen locations across five southern SHAs will receive regular visits from an InHealth mobile PET•CT vehicle. Images taken inside the mobile facility will be sent to the local health area PACS.

This fulfils the InHealth Group’s contract as chosen independent sector partner for delivering a PET•CT diagnostic imaging service to the NHS.

Many cancer patients in the south of England have had to travel 50–100 miles for PET•CT imaging procedures. The new mobile service will deliver screening provision closer to the community.

Biograph TruePoint PET•CT

The Siemens Biograph™ TruePoint™ PET•CT integrates the functional sensitivity of PET with the anatomical detail of CT. The system has been redesigned to incorporate hardware and workflow improvements that support remote operation and multiple site connectivity.

“The Biograph TruePoint PET•CT offers higher-speed acquisitions that not only increase patient comfort during uncertain examinations, but also speed up patient throughput,” said Lawrence Foulsham, Product Manager for Molecular Imaging & Oncology at Siemens. “This makes it an ideal solution for a mobile screening service looking to maximise the number of patients it can see in an area, whilst also managing the stress levels of patients.”

For more information, visit www.inhealthgroup.com and www.siemens.com/healthcare.

Enter Sandman

COVIDIEN LTD has launched a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device with a fully-integrated heated humidifier.

The Sandman Intro™ CPAP device is available throughout Europe and the USA for the treatment of sleep-disordered breathing.

Andy Ray, Vice President and General Manager for Covidien’s Sleep and Oxygen Division, said: “The goal in developing this product was to improve the night-time breathing comfort of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) – which we know to be an increasingly common and serious condition – and to accomplish this with a device that is as easy to use as it is unobtrusive.”

The Sandman Intro CPAP is quiet, lightweight (at 2.65 pounds) and compact, making it suitable for use during travel. Other travel-friendly features include the ability to run on AC/DC or external battery power and to compensate for changes in altitude.

Humidification is a feature of many CPAP devices, but the Sandman Intro CPAP is the only one to offer integrated heated humidification within such a compact structure. Its unique HumidControl feature maintains a consistent temperature difference between the water chamber and the ambient air to keep the humidity level constant.

Covidien has developed a Global Sleep Initiative to improve the treatment of sleep-disordered breathing. The Sandman Intro CPAP provides a platform for future positive airway pressure devices.

For more details, visit www.covidien.com.

Trial device saves patient’s life

RAPID APPLICATION OF A HEART PUMP DEVICE being used in trial work helped to save the life of a patient at Manchester Royal Infirmary.

A 65-year-old man being prepared to undergo a routine tongue biopsy at MRI suffered a severe allergic reaction to a general anaesthetic, resulting in a cardiac arrest. An Impella device from Abiomed was used to support his heart and allow recovery.

The patient, George Foulkes, was found to be suffering from apical ballooning syndrome. Cardiologist Dr Fath-Ordoubadi placed an Impella artificial pump into his heart. Recovery from the syndrome normally takes 7–10 days, but within 24 hours of the Impella implantation the patient’s left ventricle was no longer dilated and 70% function had returned.

The Impella device is a catheter placed in the left ventricle of the heart. Its motor pumps blood into the aorta, aiding circulation. It helps to support the poorly functioning or failing ventricle, especially during coronary procedures.

Su Lawton of Abiomed said: “It was a matter of chance that we were in MRI doing some trial work with the Impella. We are currently in discussions with the NHS to fund this new technology and we are very confident that with such positive outcomes, the Impella will soon play an important role in the recovery of patient’s hearts.”

For more details, visit www.abiomed.com.

Synthetic bone paste available in Europe

MEDTRONIC, INC. has launched the Nanostim™ Synthetic Bone Paste for use in surgical procedures in the EU.

The new bone graft substitute provides a supporting structure for new bone formation, aiding bone healing in places where voids or gaps exist in the bone tissue. Nanostim Synthetic Bone Paste can be filled into defects regardless of their shape, and remains in close contact with the surrounding bone.

Composed of highly pure nanocrystals of the synthetic material nanohydroxyapetite, the new bone paste does not harden after application. It is also free of exothermic heating, a chemical reaction that can lead to the destruction of bone cells.

“Our patients achieved successful bone formation when we used Nanostim Synthetic Bone Paste,” said Reinhart Schnettler, M.D., Department of Trauma Surgery at University Hospital Giessen-Marburg GmbH in Giessen, Germany. “It’s easy to handle in the operating room, and its osteoconductive properties make it an effective bone void filler.”

For more information, visit www.medtronic.com.

SoloSTAR® insulin pen wins Good Design Award

A NEW DISPOSABLE INSULIN PEN available in the UK has won a 2007 Good Design Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design.

Different versions of the SoloSTAR disposable insulin injection pen from sanofi-aventis are used to inject the Lantus and Apidra brands of insulin.

“Lantus SoloSTAR and Apidra SoloSTAR, the results of over four years of intensive development, have been designed in dialogue with patients, nurses and doctors and meet the high standards of the industry,” said Paul Jansen, Global Head Medical Devices, sanofi-aventis.

“SoloSTAR is a marriage of sleek, handsome design styling with easy, but advanced sophisticated technology for dispensing insulin to people with diabetes,” says Christian K. Narkiewicz-Laine, President, Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. “SoloSTAR represents a design for social good and for humanitarian concerns.”

Fear of self-injection can be a barrier to successful insulin therapy. In a recent survey of Lantus SoloSTAR use involving more than 2000 people with diabetes, more than 95% of participants declared to be ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with using the pen.

The SoloSTAR insulin pen allows doses up to 80 units to be injected in one-unit increments. It reduces the injection force relative to other pens in its class, and eliminates the need to change insulin cartridges.

The design of the SoloSTAR pen is the result of a collaboration between sanofi-aventis and DCA Design International Ltd in the UK.

Lantus SoloSTAR pen

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Medtech Features

Setting the image free

by Admin 1. March 2008 14:12