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EKLIN MEDICAL SYSTEMS INSTALLS DIGITAL IMAGE REVIEW AND Keeneland First to Offer Digital Technology for Reviewing Pre-sale Digital
Economically, with so much at stake, horse buyers require a set of radiographs of the selling horse's extremities. These radiographs must be taken within three weeks prior to the auction. The radiographic exam, which averages 32 x-ray films per horse, is then submitted to Keeneland's repository. The repository, functioning similar to a library, weighs the exam folder containing the films and checks out the exam to the buyer's representative veterinarian. The veterinarian then takes the films to a medical light box within the repository, hangs each film on it and conducts a review of the images. The films are returned to the repository librarian who weighs the folder once again and checks it back in, ready for the next reviewing veterinarian. "During the auction's two week duration, the logistics of accommodating almost 200 veterinarians reviewing sets of 32 images per horse for approximately 4,700 horses were massive," said Cathy Schenck, Keeneland's Repository supervisor. "With only one set of films available per horse, imagine scores of veterinarians standing in line waiting to analyze images on some of the more popular horses. Needless to say, it can get quite hectic at times." For Keeneland, this service easily amounts to hundreds of thousands of films to be reviewed at each auction. For example, at this year's September Yearling sale, the 4,700 sets of pre-sale images were reviewed an average of 3.4 times per set, amounting to the actual physical handling of more than half a million pieces of x-ray films. Fortunately, with the growing use of digital radiography (DR) for equine imaging, a high-tech, digital image review solution is now available at Keeneland. During the annual American Association of Equine Practitioners' annual conference in San Antonio being held December 3 – 6, 2006, Eklin Medical Systems announced it had installed the Eklin Digital Repository® system at Keeneland which recently debuted at the annual November Breeding Stock sale. Developed in conjunction with Eklin's partner, Cedara Software, a Merge Healthcare (NASDAQ:MRGE) company, the installation marked the beginning of Keeneland's transition to digital image review and archiving. Twelve workstations, located within the repository, incorporate Eklin and Cedara technology to allow multiple veterinarians the ability to simultaneously log onto the system and instantly retrieve pre-sale DR exams. The images are then reviewed on a high-grade, grey scale medical monitor. The system tracks the number of reviews and the reviewer's identification, providing an instant tracking report back to Keeneland. "The introduction of the Eklin Digital Repository at Keeneland has been extremely well received by veterinarians, as well as buyers and sellers of these Thoroughbreds," said Gary R. Cantu, president and CEO of Eklin. "We are pleased that our partnership with Cedara has resulted in bringing state-of-the-art image review from the human world to this world class auction facility. Given the feedback to date, we believe other repositories and veterinary practices will soon implement similar capabilities as we expand our presence in this dynamic new market." Just as digital cameras have made photography easier and more efficient by eliminating film, DR systems provide the veterinarian with a radiographic image that can be viewed immediately on a high-resolution monitor without the need for film development. DR systems also offer sophisticated image processing tools, giving the veterinarian much greater depth of information that can be enlarged or manipulated for far better detail, resulting in closer scrutiny of potential areas of concern. Images can be burned to a CD, or stored and archived for future evaluation using a PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications System) which is conformant to DICOM 3.0 standards developed in the human market over the past 10 years. Many of the leading equine practitioners, who submit or review pre-sale exams at the Keeneland auctions, currently use DR and digital image management within their practices. Keeneland's transition to a Digital Repository came as welcomed news. "Hagyard was among the earliest in the nation to adopt digital radiography technology and we have subsequently grown to ten Eklin DR systems in preparation for Keeneland's implementation of a Digital Repository," said Andrew R. Clark, DVM, MBA, president and CEO, Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington. "The installation of the Digital Repository at Keeneland provides significant advantages for not only the reviewing veterinarian, but also for those of us who submit high quality DR images to be reviewed. "Now, the reviewing veterinarian can analyze a highly detailed DR image which can be optimized to focus on regions of specific interest. Plus, the opportunity to digitally review images versus handling multiple analogue films for each horse will provide a Originally, this leading edge medical image and information management solution was developed for the global healthcare market, including such diverse industries as pharmaceutical, dentistry, orthopedics, radiology, oncology, women's health and more. For Keeneland, Cedara and Eklin developed a unique image review system based on technology found in one of the world's most popular radiology applications, eFilm Workstation. With customized capabilities specifically designed for Keeneland, this technology brings tailored digital review to this world renowned equine auction facility. "I believe the transition to digital review at Keeneland will revolutionize the way we conduct pre-sale exams and analyses," said William A. Rood, DVM, JD, founder of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington which has three Eklin DR systems. "The ease of recalling 32 digital images at your fingertips and ability to electronically store complete exams is a major breakthrough. In fact, it could have a substantial impact on sharing and reviewing pre-sale exams on a global basis." Keeneland is the first Thoroughbred auction facility in the world to use digital image management for pre-sale exam reviews. As digital solutions expand throughout the veterinary care industry, similar benefits originally realized in the human healthcare market are materializing. "With digital solutions, cost and time savings increase dramatically plus hazardous waste from film developing and disposal is eliminated," said Cantu. "Most importantly, however, digital technology provides superb images. This results in better patient outcomes and more accurate diagnoses. In the end, everyone – seller, buyer and horse – wins."
Cedara Software is a Merge Healthcare company focused on the development of custom engineered software applications and development tools for the medical imaging OEM and International markets. Cedara software is deployed in hospitals and clinics worldwide, and is licensed by many of the world's leading medical device and healthcare information technology companies. Cedara technologies and expertise span all the major digital imaging modalities including computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), digital X-ray, mammography, ultrasound, echo-cardiology, angiography, nuclear medicine, positron emission tomography (PET) and fluoroscopy. Cedara medical imaging offerings are used in all aspects of clinical imaging workflow including the capture of a patient's digital image; the archiving, communication and manipulation of digital images; sophisticated clinical applications to analyze digital images; and the use of imaging in minimally-invasive surgery. Additional information at www.cedara.com.
With hundreds of systems installed in private practices and universities around the globe, Eklin Medical Systems, Inc. is one of the world’s leading providers of veterinary PACS, practice management and digital radiography products. The company focuses on applications where speed, portability, and increased practice efficiency are critically important. Eklin is a privately-held company headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., and can be contacted at 800-819-5538 or visit http://www.eklin.com.
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