Mirada Medical's Blog

Caseaccess

In these times of reduced fees for services, radiology providers are looking to implement ways to provide superior service in order to expand their referral base.  In many cases, they are doing this while the number of staff members is being reduced.  Deploying Mirada Medical’s Caseaccess product is one way to achieve this goal. 

Caseaccess allows key images, quantifications, and reports, among other outputs to be accessed by physicians in a timely manner, via a secure portal.  This is all done electronically, so there is no need to burn CDs or drive around town delivering reports.  This frees up staff to perform other duties.  It allows the referring physician to easily show the patient the results of their procedures very shortly after the scans are completed.  By getting the data to the physician in a timely manner, both the imaging department and the referrer can provide a better quality of service to the patient. 

Navigating the world of cancer care can be an overwhelming task.  These patients are ill, scared, and often traveling to medical facilities with which they are unfamiliar.  Many of these patients may see multiple physicians from various disciplines throughout the course of a single day.  Oftentimes, they have traveled a great distance, and their imaging procedures are performed the same day as well.  Using Caseaccess helps to disseminate the results quickly, allows access to the results to all who are playing a part in managing the patient care for the individual, and reduces the amount of stress for the patient. 

Back in the stone ages, technologists actually printed films.  When physicians needed to see them, patients would sign them out and take them to an appointment.  After that, they were returned to the facility to be re-filed.  After years aboard the film carousel, radiology went digital, and CDs became the new “films.”   This was a slight improvement to the system, but still not a very efficient way to operate.  Enter Mirada Medical’s Caseaccess product.  When utilizing this product, everyone wins- radiology providers, referring physicians, and most importantly the patients.  Please check out our Caseaccess product at http://www.mirada-medical.com/Products/Caseaccess/. 

 

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 in Twenty Years

Recently, my six-year-old nephew asked me what my company does.  Well, how do I explain complex medical software in terms he will understand?  I told him that we make programs for the computer that help doctors find out what is wrong with people and to help them to make plans to try to help them get better.

Knowing that a picture is worth a thousand words, I asked if he wanted to see it, and he did.  I pulled up some images and showed him some things that might be familiar to him.  I was surprised by the kindergartener’s knowledge of anatomy.  Then he started to ask where specific body parts were.  Things like the brain and heart.  When I showed him the heart, he told me it did not look like a heart.  So, I scrolled through some slices and tried to find something that might be a more convincing heart.  Luckily that worked. 

After this, we moved on to the PET MIP.  After all, what adult isn’t impressed by the “spinning man”? Molecular Imaging hasn’t earned the nickname “spots and dots” for no good reason.  He was now asking what the blobs were.  One was a lung nodule, so I pointed out that was what was making this person sick.  The rest were the usual suspects:  brain, heart, and bladder.  This particular case also had a prominent kidney and bladder.  My nephew asked:  “What are these?”  I explained that the kidneys make urine and go through a tube into the bladder.  He thought about this for a bit, and then said: “I’ve never seen black urine before.”  I didn’t see that coming, but it was a logical statement.  I assured him that it really is not that color in the patient and showed him how we can view images in various color scales.  He was satisfied and we moved on.

He then asked what I do for Mirada.  I explained that people call me if they need help using our program.  He said, “What you do is very, very important.  When you get old and retired, I want to work for Mirada.”  I agree that what Mirada does and how we do it is very important.  Twenty years from now (when I am old and retired and my nephew is working for Mirada), who knows what innovative tools and software programs our engineering and science teams will be developing.  If what they have done in my two years with the company is any indication, they will be cutting-edge and set the bar for the industry.   Please take some time to explore what we have to offer by visiting us at 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.

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.

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.

Customer Service and Support

 Generally, I do not look forward to contacting a company’s customer service department, and I am sure others would agree.  I do not relish the automated systems through which you can never seem to press the correct button.  Then, if you have managed to successfully navigate that, you are put on hold.  While on hold, there is usually some terrible music to endure.  As if that isn’t bad enough, periodically a mechanical voice interrupts the music to inform you that your call is very important to them and to please continue to hold.

At Mirada, we take into account all the things we dislike about various customer service protocols.  We have no automated systems to navigate and no elevator music.  You usually get to speak to one of us on the first attempt, or get a call back very quickly.  In addition, we have various methods of contacting us  including  our toll free telephone number, our website, and e-mail.  This allows our customers to use the most convenient method for them.

What does customer support mean to us?  We aim to not only meet, but to exceed customer expectations.  This begins in the sales process.  If questions are answered in an efficient, detailed and friendly manner, it helps us gain your trust.  We strive to instill our culture of the “Mirada way” in all aspects of our business.  If customers feel taken care of prior to purchasing, that builds confidence that we will continue to provide that same level of support throughout the installation, training and ongoing support process.  Building this relationship is very important to us.  It is one of trust, respect, and understanding. 

Who are our customers?  They are vendors who sell our product, institutions who have purchased our products, and ultimately the patients whose exams are being interpreted with our software.  So know that we are here to help.  Call us, email us, check out our website.  No elevator music.  We promise.

 

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.

Theories on Jet-lag

Healthcare is a global industry. Mirada Medical has customers in Europe, North America and Asia. It is inevitable that from time to time I need to travel to visit and meet these customers.

Earlier this month I was on a flight from London to Washington, DC, travelling to an industry  conference. I overheard a woman sitting to my left discussing with a travelling companion her theory for avoiding jet-lag. The trick, she said, was to eat at the mealtimes of the destination time zone as early as possible  - in her case, she had ceased UK conventions the previous day, adopting instead the mealtimes of her US destination city.

Frequent fliers will have heard such theories on jet-lag before. “Drink plenty of water” is a popular (and relatively effective)  one. “Force yourself to stay up until normal bedtime” is another. Medicinal use of melatonin is another widely advocated but as yet inconclusively evidenced remedy for jet-lag.  ABC News reported in May 2007 that Viagra might be effective, though the evidence here was based on a study of non-travelling hamsters. And William Gibson (through the character Damien in Pattern Recognition) proposes that jet-lag actually is caused by the inability of the soul to keep up with the plane so when you land in London your soul is still out over the ocean and you just have to wait for it to catch up with you, like an item of lost luggage. There are plenty of theories. 

So here’s mine: don’t get on the plane. All of my own jet-lag inducing air travel is work related. At Mirada we develop state of the art software solutions for today’s problems in clinical diagnostics and treatment management. A part of this is the development of remote reading solutions including server and cloud based image analysis and reporting. We can successfully set up online diagnostics at the most advanced level.  We can fuse PET images with MRI images.  We can develop deformable registration algorithms which leading radiation oncologists agree successfully register the toughest prostate or head & neck MRI images with CT. So why  in 2011 do I need an airplane every time I want to engage with a customer? Sometimes I do, but mostly I do not.

Ubiquitous online meeting tools such as Webex, Gotomeeting or my current favourite TeamViewer allow me to demonstrate Mirada’s advanced multi-modality image analysis capabilities from anywhere in the world to anywhere in the world. Mirada’s service & support team are 100% set up to provide any current or prospective customer with full product service, demonstrations and evaluations using web connections and online conferencing tools. And with a with a grateful nod to Skype, I can now enjoy long conversations with customers in far flung places without paying my mobile operator’s punitive $2 per minute charges for making international calls – such charges can make the air ticket the more economic option!

Meeting people face to face is important, fun, and essential to the development of strong relationships. But many trips can be avoided and there are good economic and environmental reasons for doing so. Importantly, there are also very good reasons of personal health and well-being for not getting on that plane like, for example, the avoidance of jet-lag. 

 

About the Author

Hugh Bettesworth is Chief Executive of 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