Mirada Medical's blog

Multidisciplinary Medicine

What is multidisciplinary medicine?  It is the collaboration of various specialists to use collective knowledge and expertise to determine the best plan of treatment for each patient, usually cancer patients.  Some of you may be aware of or participate in tumor boards or other multidisciplinary conferences.  Some tumor boards are broad and cover patients with various types of cancer; while others are more specific, addressing patients with specific forms of cancer.  Common attendees are Radiologists, Radiation Oncologists, Medical Oncologists, Surgeons, Organ Specialists, Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, Pathologists, and Coordinators.  One critical component to these important conferences is the ability to show medical images efficiently. 

The multidisciplinary approach to cancer care is crucial for the following reasons:

• Rapid advances in specialization
• Increasing complexity of cancer care
• It addresses  diagnosis, initial staging, treatment, and palliation
• Having all the “players” at the table helps to best treat the patient, as each patient is different, as is each tumor; it also allows for knowledge of newest procedures and clinical trials
• Allows tracking for trials and statistics

Some of the challenges facing multidisciplinary medicine are:

• Outside Images- it is painful and sometimes impossible to get the data
• Need for patient history to be available along with the images
• IT infrastructure
• Need for an effective data and image exchange
• Need data management tools to support an RT workflow

If you find yourself facing any of these issues, Mirada has solutions.  Check us out at Mirada-medical.com, and keep an eye out for our blog on our Casemeeting product.  Better yet, drop by our booth (8722) at the RSNA to check out how we can improve your workflow and address challenges you currently face with multidisciplinary medicine. 

 

About the Author

Jennifer Miller is the US Support Manager at Mirada Medical Ltd.  Jenn is a registered nuclear medicine technologist with 8 years of clinical experience in various settings, and 7 years of industry experience.

 About Mirada Medical

Mirada Medical is an internationally recognised brand in advanced medical imaging. The company develops high value clinical software applications, which are used across diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology, tumour board and elsewhere.

 

The opinions expressed in this blog represent the views of the author and not necessarily those of Mirada Medical Limited.

US Medical Imaging Market Overview

 

A 21-year analysis by the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) found that medical devices made up a relatively small share of US health expenditures, representing only 5.9% in 2009 (1).

 The medical imaging market experienced growth from 2004, with the rapid adoption of new technologies like PET/CT hybrid scanners, up until 2006. Negative growth was recorded during 2006/2007, when unit shipments declined drastically due to reimbursement cuts enforced by DRA (Deficit Reduction Act) (2). The market stabilised in 2008 with positive growth until 2010 (3) due to reimbursement cuts stabilisation and FDG coverage expansion. Positive growth is projected onward until 2014 (2).

 In 2009, CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) expanded FDG PET coverage for initial treatment of 25 new cancer types. This decision more than triples the number of cancer types previously covered (4). PET/CT represents the highest reimbursing imaging modality and the fastest growing modality with a projected 10-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11%. Although CT and MRI experienced double digit annual growth rate over the past decade, the Health Care Advisory Board expects only PET/CT to maintain its double-digit growth over the next decade (5).

 The medical imaging market has also been slowed down by the recent global economical recession. In a metaphorical style, Frost & Sullivan referred to the medical imaging market as a ‘rising phoenix‘, expected to recover starting 2010 despite the setback due to economic depression and the significant decline in reimbursement. The drivers behind this reformation would be advancements in technology and new clinical applications for imaging modalities (6).

 In March 2010, President Obama signed new healthcare law. In September 2010, a number of important provisions took effect, with broader changes to come in 2014 (7). Radiology specialists claim the healthcare reform will enforce new payment models and reimbursement cuts which will hit the market again similarly to DRA in 2005 (8).

 A 2010 study on top trends in medical imaging (9) concluded that ‘budgets are tight, reimbursement is shrinking, competition is fierce and the need to deliver more, faster is endemic’. However, increased R&D investment in hybrid modalities and add-on technologies (including software applications) continues to drive market forward (2). 

 

1. Health Imaging (2011) Medical devices are small part of total healthcare expenditures. http://www.healthimaging.com/index.php?option=com_articles&view=article&id=28670:medical-devices-are-small-part-of-total-healthcare-expenditures
2. Frost & Sullivan (2008) U.S. and PET-CT Imaging Equipment Markets, N436-50. http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/report-toc.pag?repid=N436-01-00-00-00
3. Health Imaging (2011) Report: PET utilization nudges up. http://www.healthimaging.com/index.php?option=com_articles&view=article&id=28901:report-pet-utilization-nudges-up
4. Ivy Ventures (2009) PET/CT market grows with CMS decision to expand coverage for cancer patients. http://www.ivyventures.com/documents/PETCTCoverageExpansion.pdf
   
5.  Health Care Advisory Board, Innovation Center (2008) Radiology. Future of Diagnostic Imaging. http://www.advisory.com/Research/Health-Care-Advisory-Board/Studies/2008/~/media/Advisory-com/Research/HCAB/Research-Study/2008/Future-of-Diagnostic-Imaging/Future-of-Diagnostic-Imaging-HCAB.pdf
6. Frost & Sullivan (2010) Medical imaging Industry 2010 – A phoenix rising?. http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/market-insight-top.pag?docid=189150885
7. The New York Times (2011) Health Care Reform. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/health_insurance_and_managed_care/health_care_reform/index.html
8. RSNA (2010) Healthcare reform deals new blow with reimbursement cuts. http://www.rsna.org/Publications/rsnanews/July-2010/healthcare_reform_feature.cfm
9. Health Imaging (2010) 2010 Top Trends in Health Imaging & IT: The Refining of Radiology. http://www.healthimaging.com/index.php?option=com_articles&view=article&id=24072:2010-top-trends-in-health-imaging-a-it-the-refining-of-radiology

 About the Author

Simona  Maria Nita is the Digital Marketing Manager at Mirada Medical Ltd. Simona has over 10 years of professional experience and a strong academic background in Marketing.

About Mirada Medical

Mirada Medical is an internationally recognised brand in advanced medical imaging. The company develops high value clinical software applications, which are used across diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology, tumour board and elsewhere.

 

The opinions expressed in this blog represent the views of the author and not necessarily those of Mirada Medical Limited.

ASTRO Meeting 2011 – Miami, Florida

 

This year’s ASTRO meeting was an opportunity for Mirada to showcase our newest product – Mirada RTx and its various workflows to improve patient care.   Wow, was our booth busy!  For the entire three days (with Monday seeming to be the most hectic of the three), we had a constant flow of radiation oncologists, physicists, and dosimetrists from all over the world – Japan, Korea, India, Australia, as well as many European countries, the US, and others.  Many were initially just interested in our deformable fusion capabilities, but often this interest would transition to the software as a whole once they recognized our ability to answer more of their questions beyond just having a validated deformable fusion algorithm.

From the opening on Sunday, we knew that our marketing messages were on target.  People would walk up to our booth, see our marketing messages, and know immediately where we stood in the competitive marketplace.  By the time they left our booth, many of those same people were making statements such as “It is nice to see a company doing something new and innovative for a change!” and “This is exactly the type of software that has been missing in radiation oncology!”  Even some of the individuals who were initially skeptical upon walking into our booth would walk away with words such as, “I am definitely impressed!” and “Wow, I would definitely like a follow-up to find out more!” especially after learning of our special pricing through the end of the year.

Our marketing messages of Deformable Fusion, Adaptive Therapy, Auto Contouring, and Dose Warping and Summation were exactly what people were looking for; and sometimes, more than they ever expected!  By the end of the show, we had conversed with and demonstrated for a much larger number of attendees than we had anticipated, and additionally had met with a handful various OEM groups interested in our deformable fusion and other tools.  Tuesday evening, we were actually busy for another 15 – 20 minutes past the close of the show!  It was exciting to be in an environment where people were truly interested in innovation to enhance patient care and were receptive and enthusiastic about what Mirada could contribute to their ability to improve the quality of care for their patients.  Check out our RT software here .

 

About the Author

Doug Philip is a registered radiography, nuclear medicine, and PET technologist currently working as a Product Specialist at Mirada Medical Inc.  He has six years of experience as a nuclear medicine and PET technologist in a university hospital and research environment and eight years of experience in the medical device industry.

About Mirada Medical

Mirada Medical is an internationally recognised brand in advanced medical imaging. The company develops high value clinical software applications, which are used across diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology, tumour board and elsewhere.

 

The opinions expressed in this blog represent the views of the author and not necessarily those of Mirada Medical Limited.

New range of software and study at ASTRO 2011

Mirada will be showcasing a new range of software planning tools at ASTRO 2011 (Booth #1257) that incorporate its fusion technologies to support: dose warping, dose summation, atlas based auto-contouring, deformable fusion of multi-sequence MR, PET and SPECT and single click contour warping to support adaptive re-planning.

Dr. Mark Gooding, senior scientist at Mirada Medical, will present a study and poster on deformable CT-MR registration (#3262) at ASTRO. The study was chosen from a record breaking 2,437 abstracts submitted for review to be presented. ASTRO is the largest gathering of radiation oncology specialists in the world.

The study, titled “Assessing the quality of deformable CT-MR registration for the purpose of multi-modal radiotherapy planning,” examines the performance of Mirada’s multi-modal deformable registration algorithm for the fusion of head and neck, prostate and cervical diagnostic MR scans to CT planning volumes. Performance was assessed by experts in radiation oncology from four independent clinical institutions and quantitative errors were also measured using landmarks. In all cases, deformable registration significantly improved the alignment between MR and planning CT, approximately halving the registration error compared to conventional rigid alignment. The clinical experts’ assessment concluded that the results required minimal intervention prior to use in multi-modal contouring.

 

About the Author

Simona Nita is the Digital Marketing Manager at Mirada Medical Ltd. Simona has over 10 years of professional experience and a strong academic background in the field of Marketing.

About Mirada Medical

Mirada Medical is an internationally recognised brand in advanced medical imaging. The company develops high value clinical software applications, which are used across diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology, tumour board and elsewhere.

 

The opinions expressed in this blog represent the views of the author and not necessarily those of Mirada Medical Limited.

At your service

At Mirada we like to utilize all available resources in supporting our customers.  Advances in technology help us to do this very efficiently.  We frequently use tools like Go to Meeting® and Go to Assist®, as they allow us to provide excellent service to our customers in a cost effective, efficient manner.  We realize how busy our customers are taking care of patients; we want to take care of support issues without disrupting their important work. 

In the not too distant past, vendors carried out all customer training activities either on-site or at training centers.    It is often difficult to coordinate schedules so that all necessary personnel are available for on-site training.  Moreover, it can be disruptive to a busy imaging department.   Now, we are able to provide web-based training for physicians and staff.  In addition, we can provide refresher training, education for individuals who were unable to attend on-site training, and new hire software training at a time that is convenient for them.    When new software is released, we are able to conduct convenient webinars to train our installed base on the new and improved features of the software.   

In addition to training, we can provide installation support, as well as general customer support.  Remote access into a system is beneficial in many circumstances.  For example, we can install and update software, set configurations, perform testing, troubleshoot, and obtain log files – all remotely.  What previously required travel to a site, or emailing information such as screen shots or log files, can now be done more quickly and with less disruption for the customer.

Remote tools enhance our ability to educate, install, and troubleshoot.  They play an integral role in our day to day operations.  The flexibility and improved resolution time help Mirada achieve our goal of “exceeding expectations.”

 

About the Author

Jennifer Miller is the US Support Manager at Mirada Medical Ltd.  Jenn is a registered nuclear medicine technologist with 8 years of clinical experience in various settings, and 7 years of industry experience.

 About Mirada Medical

Mirada Medical is an internationally recognised brand in advanced medical imaging. The company develops high value clinical software applications, which are used across diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology, tumour board and elsewhere.

 

The opinions expressed in this blog represent the views of the author and not necessarily those of Mirada Medical Limited.

Small is good

 Working for a smaller company, as opposed to a big corporation, is a great experience for so many reasons, both personal and professional. I have worked in both environments, and a smaller company definitely has its allure.  

Personally:

At Mirada, I am not a number. Everybody knows who I am - in a good way (at least I hope).  In addition, my opinion and input matter.   I am involved in many areas that I would not be, if I worked for a larger corporation.  I feel that my work makes an impact, within the company, with our customers, and ultimately the patients our customers serve.  Also, there is a great deal of flexibility.  If a personal issue arises, and we know they do, Mirada allows me to come up with solutions that allow me to get my job done, and take care of other obligations. 

Professionally: 

Responsiveness- Mirada values the input of our customers, and is generally able to implement their feedback in a shorter time frame than larger companies.  Users see their suggestions implemented, and I believe that makes them feel that they have a vested interest in the product development.  At trade shows, attendees have the opportunity to meet and speak with our engineers and scientists who develop the products.  This too, helps to build relationships with our customers. 

 

Relationships - they are another thing I love about the smaller companies.  I am able to develop relationships with my customers.  I can take the time to get to know them.  I often learn where they are going on vacation or when they have joyous occasions to celebrate. 

Given the choice, I will elect to work for a smaller company.  If you would like to learn about some of the people that make up this company, please visit us at http://www.mirada-medical.com/AboutUs/.  We would love for you to become one of the family.

 

About the Author

Jennifer Miller is the US Support Manager at Mirada Medical Ltd.  Jenn is a registered nuclear medicine technologist with 8 years of clinical experience in various settings, and 7 years of industry experience.

About Mirada Medical

Mirada Medical is an internationally recognised brand in advanced medical imaging. The company develops high value clinical software applications, which are used across diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology, tumour board and elsewhere.

 

The opinions expressed in this blog represent the views of the author and not necessarily those of Mirada Medical Limited.

Mirada Medical on Social Media

 

Here at Mirada Medical, we love to talk to our customers online and to anyone else interested in what we are doing. We see ourselves as a transparent company, open to discuss (and implement!) new ideas.

We listen to customers discussing our products on various online channels and we react with product and service improvements. Moreover, we take a proactive approach towards this encounter: during the past 2 years, we opened more than 20 social media accounts where we post information, images, videos, etc. We simply want to keep in touch with our online friends.

So why social media? Because behind the computer screens there are people willing to meet and greet online and because the Mirada team are a bunch of original people. Besides building great products ... we are individuals passionate about many other things, like motorbikes, farming, skating, sailing, music, and much more. We want to meet our customers just the way we are: with our highs and lows, our passion for work and hobbies – and social media seems to be the best place for an authentic contact with people around the world. We are currently conversing with people from Europe, USA, India, Brazil, Turkey, and many other places.

 

We hope to speak to you all very soon – on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, Google Places, StumbleUpon, TypePad, Digg, radRounds, Radiolopolis, Iradix, AuntMinnie, Technocrati, SlideShare, Docstoc, Radiology Forums, Dave’s Places In Radiology, MedicExchange, Buzz, Google+1....and more!

 

About the Author

Simona  Nita is the Digital Marketing Manager at Mirada Medical Ltd. Simona has over 10 years of professional experience and a strong academic background in the field of Marketing.

About Mirada Medical

Mirada Medical is an internationally recognised brand in advanced medical imaging. The company develops high value clinical software applications, which are used across diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology, tumour board and elsewhere.

 

The opinions expressed in this blog represent the views of the author and not necessarily those of Mirada Medical Limited.

Workflow

Workflow is a word that comes up in every discussion regarding medical software.  We are often asked questions like:  how will this fit into my workflow and how will this improve my workflow.  At Mirada Medical, we do not provide software solutions, but workflow solutions. 

What challenges do hospitals and medical practices face?  They are being pressed to do more in less time.  They want a solution that will help them read more efficiently.  Many need to be able to read from remote locations.  Some do not have room for any more computer towers or monitors in their reading room and need an integrated solution.  Others work closely with Radiation Therapy and need to provide them with critical information regarding patients’ treatments.  Many attend tumor boards and find preparation for this tedious.  They also need to share their results with the referring physicians. 

These needs play a significant role when looking to purchase new software.  At Mirada, we not only provide software solutions, but workflow solutions.  Sometimes the software itself is the solution.  XD provides the physicians an efficient way to interpret both single and multi time point exams.  CDs with a robust DICOM viewer can be burned to share the study with the referring physician.   In addition, it allows the radiologists to provide the Radiation Therapy Department with additional information for patient treatment.  Our Casemeeting software provides an efficient, robust platform for Tumor Board preparation and presentation. 

Sometimes, the deployment option is the workflow solution the customer needs.  Many desire fewer workstations, so integration on PACS and Advanced Visualization platforms is an option.  For those that need to read from various locations, we offer both thin client and floating license options. 

So, if you are in the market for a Workflow Solution, or want to learn more about our product line, check us out @ www.Mirada-medical.com.

 

About the Author

Jennifer Miller is the US Support Manager at Mirada Medical Ltd.  Jenn is a registered nuclear medicine technologist with 8 years of clinical experience in various settings, and 7 years of industry experience.

About Mirada Medical

Mirada Medical is an internationally recognised brand in advanced medical imaging. The company develops high value clinical software applications, which are used across diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology, tumour board and elsewhere.

 

The opinions expressed in this blog represent the views of the author and not necessarily those of Mirada Medical Limited.

Mirada Medical

 

Hybrid Scanners vs. Software

Over the years it has been very interesting to watch the evolution of hybrid PET/CT scanners become the gold standard in PET imaging.   When I first started in this business almost ten years ago I worked for a mobile PET company whose entire fleet was PET only.   This unfortunately was the company’s downfall, as any new customer required PET/CT.  At the time we tried to patch the outdated fleet with a software solution and some early image registration tools.  Unfortunately, the industry seemed to reject software as a substitute for hybrid imaging.  

Today with PET/MR on the forefront, it will be very interesting to see if software will get a second look as a substitute to an investment into a full PET/MR scanner.  There is no doubt MR can bring so much to the table in the world of PET imaging and top institutions will want to make the investment.  Given these difficult economic times though, the majority of institutions will be unable to afford the investment.  Could high powered computer algorithms and slick display protocols be the answer this time around?   Only time will tell how much this will catch on.   Personally, I think there are so many good arguments for software solutions in this arena this time around.   Let the new PET/MR hybrids blaze the trail for ultimately giving the best information with certain types of cancers, neuro imaging and cardiovascular imaging, but when applicable, let software provide a solution, especially if it is the only solution.

 

About the Author

Greg Janik is the Senior Product Specialist at Mirada Medical Ltd.

About Mirada Medical

Mirada Medical is an internationally recognised brand in advanced medical imaging. The company develops high value clinical software applications, which are used across diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology, tumour board and elsewhere.

 

The opinions expressed in this blog represent the views of the author and not necessarily those of Mirada Medical Limited.