| KEENELAND SCALES EKLIN DIGITAL REPOSITORY®
TO 32 MEDICAL IMAGE REVIEW WORKSTATIONS
More than 500,000 DR Images Reviewed as World’s Leading
Thoroughbred Auction House Converts to Digital Radiography Review
Santa Clara, Calif. – November 19, 2007 – When Keeneland,
the world’s leading Thoroughbred auction facility, opened its doors
to the annual September Yearling Sale, the medical repository had undergone
a major expansion for the review of digital medical images. Beginning
with 12 review workstations from Eklin Medical Systems, which were installed
for the 2006 Breeding Stock Sale last November, Keeneland added an additional
20 bringing the total to 32 image review workstations for the 2007 Yearling
Sale. The expanded Eklin Digital Repository® is currently being used
at this year’s Breeding Stock Sale.
“We were the first auction company to implement digital medical
image review when we installed the Eklin Digital Repository last year,”
said Geoffrey Russell, Keeneland’s director of sales. “As
a leader in the Thoroughbred industry, we wanted to provide our participating
veterinarians with a state-of-the-art repository so they could review
extensive sets of x-rays and quickly assess a horse’s clinical soundness.
The repository was so successful after its initial launch last year that
we expanded it even more this year. Our customers are thrilled, so we’re
thrilled.”
This year, the Yearling Sale featured more than 5,000 horses. The final
revenue count was just over $385 million (USD) over the 14-day auction
period, with many horses going for millions of dollars each. The Breeding
Stock Sale, now underway, is featuring approximately 5,400 horses with
hundreds of millions in revenues also expected. Economically, with so
much at stake, horse buyers require a set of radiographs of the selling
horse’s extremities. These radiographs must be taken no earlier
than three weeks prior to the auction. The radiographic exam, which averages
32 radiographs per horse, is then submitted to Keeneland’s repository.
In the past when film-based x-rays were primarily used, the repository,
functioning similar to a library, weighed the exam folder containing the
films prior to checking out the folder to the buyer’s representative
veterinarian. The veterinarian then took the films to a medical light
box within the repository, hanging each film on it in order to conduct
a review of the images, often using a magnifying glass to see small details.
The films were returned to the repository librarian who weighed the folder
once again and checked it back in, ready for the next reviewing veterinarian.
“When we were using film-based x-rays during the auction’s
two week duration, the logistics of accommodating almost 200 veterinarians
reviewing sets of 32 images per horse for approximately 5,000 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. Due to the expansion of the Eklin Digital Repository
this year, however, approximately 500,000 digital images were quickly
reviewed without any access limitations.”
Just as digital cameras have made photography easier and more efficient
by eliminating film, DR systems provide the clinician 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 clinician much greater depth of information
that can be enlarged or manipulated for far better detail, resulting in
closer scrutiny of potential areas of concern.
“Digital radiography and the Eklin Digital Repository at Keeneland
have been extremely well received by the veterinarians, as well as buyers
and sellers of these Thoroughbreds,” said Gary R. Cantu, president
and CEO of Eklin. “Due to the scaleable architecture of this technology,
we will be able to continue expanding this state-of-the-art digital image
review as DR proliferates. To date, Keeneland has transitioned from 100
percent film-based radiographs at the 2006 Yearling sale to about 80 percent
digital radiographs this year.”
Using proven, leading edge medical image and information management technology
developed for the global healthcare market, Eklin, in conjunction with
Cedara Software (a Merge Healthcare subsidiary and shareholder in 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. The Eklin Digital Repository also will be used at the
upcoming Broodstock Sale in November.
“Most importantly, digital technology provides superb images and
significant workflow efficiencies,” said Cantu. “This results
in better patient outcomes and more accurate diagnoses. In the end, everyone
– seller, buyer and horse – wins. We look forward to our continued
partnership with Keeneland.”
About Eklin Medical Systems, Inc.
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
Media Contact:
Laurie Hallwyler
Eklin Medical Systems
650-248-9081
lhallwyler@eklin.com
|
