Pictures of the Future Fall 2005
Digital Health
In Brief
? Information technology and networking are essential tools for improving the quality of health care while cutting costs. That’s why the use of digital technology in health care will continue to increase. Software is already an indispensable aid in the medical field, since it optimizes clinical work processes and information flows and ensures that the right information is available at the right place and at the right time. Whereas hospitals have invested primarily in administration and billing systems over the last few years, the focus in the future will turn to procurement of information technology for medical processes. Europe has high hopes regarding electronic health cards and doctors’ networks
For more see:Facts and Forecasts, Health Card, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Putting IT into Practice and The Heart Center of Indiana
? Computers support doctors with diagnoses and treatment planning. Siemens solutions are providing valuable assistance for identifying cancer at an early stage. For example, automatic image processing systems can recognize very small lumps in the breast, colon and lungs. "Virtual flights" through the colon enable doctors to identify polyps that might be missed using conventional procedures. In less than 20 years, automatic cancer identification systems may advance to a point that will make biopsies of suspicious lumps unnecessary, while intelligent diagnostic systems with access to databases will help doctors make decisions more
? Digital technology also offers tremendous benefits when it comes to treating illnesses. For example, magnetic navigation systems for cardiac catheters allow cardiologists to precisely maneuver through small blood vessels by means of a joystick in a manner that makes it possible to get around even the narrowest curves—and such navigation can even be conducted automatically. In what would amount to a medical sensation, such systems may relieve patients of the trauma of bypass operations in the future more
? Medical imaging devices deliver huge amounts of data from which computer programs can create detailed images of the inside of the body within seconds. Merging technologies (such as CT and PET) into hybrid devices improves image quality and simplifies diagnoses. And because special software can rapidly and precisely compare the images recorded during different examinations, the use of such hybrids also makes it easier to monitor the course of treatment. Ultrasound examinations with newly developed devices can even provide doctors with moving 3D images more
PEOPLE
Computer-assisted diagnosis
Dr. Alok Gupta, Med
alok.gupta@siemens.com
Dr. James Williams, SCR
jimwilliams@siemens.com
Dr. Sriram Krishnan, Med
sriram.krishnan@siemens.com
Computer-assisted therapy
Arne Westphal,
Med
arne.westphal@siemens.com
Dr. Wolfgang Nitz, Med
wolfgang.nitz@siemens.com
Michael Martens, Med
michael.martens@siemens.com
Hybrid devices
Keith Andress, Med
keith.andress@siemens.com
Stefan Käpplinger, Med
stefan.kaepplinger @siemens.com
Gerhard Kreitz, Med
gerhard.kreitz@siemens.com
Health card in Lombardy
Maurizio Michi,
Siemens Informatica
maurizio.michi@siemens.com
Health card
Werner Braun, Com
wernerbraun@siemens.com
Electronic patient file
Martin Prätorius,
Com
martin.praetorius@siemens.com
IT for hospitals
Deng Li, Med (Sienet, China)
li.deng@siemens.com
Robert Dewey,Med (THCI, Kardiologie)
robert.dewey@siemens.com
RFID in hospitals
Thomas Jell, SBS
thomas.jell@siemens.com
7-Tesla-MRT
Herbert Thein, Med
herbert.thein@siemens.com
Dr. Robert Krieg,Med (Mol. Imaging)
robert.krieg@siemens.com
Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology
Dr. André Brechmann brechmann@ifn-magdeburg.de
LINKS
European Commission, ICT for Health:
europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/ information_society
Siemens Medical Solutions: www.medical.siemens.com
OpenClinical: www.openclinical.org
MGH Martinos Center: www.nmr.mgh.harvard. edu/martinos
