Estes Park Medical Center, based in Estes Park, Colo., recently upgraded its diagnostic imaging department with high-resolution portable and room-based digital radiography systems from Carestream Health. The hospital also has CARESTREAM Vue PACS for enterprise image management and medical images from all modalities are stored on a CARESTREAM Vue Archive.

This critical access hospital is just minutes from the main entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, where stunning scenery and abundant wildlife draw more than 4 million visitors a year from around the world. The hospital treats patients for altitude sickness, hiking accidents, and lightning strikes, as well as heart attacks, pulmonary embolisms, and a variety of conditions and diseases.

“Our goal is to quickly and accurately assess patients to determine if we can treat them here or if they need to be transported to larger hospitals in the area,” says Brigitte Foust, director of diagnostic imaging at Estes Park Medical Center. “Digital radiography systems allow physicians to view high-quality X-ray images in seconds and make decisions that help achieve the best outcome for our patients.”

As part of the equipment upgrade that converted the hospital from computed radiography to digital radiography, Foust and her staff evaluated offerings from major imaging suppliers and chose Carestream for its mobile and room-based digital imaging systems.

“Carestream’s imaging systems offer advanced features and imaging software capabilities as well as ease of use,” Foust continues. “We also prefer the enhanced image quality and lighter weight offered by Carestream’s DRX Plus detectors.”

A CARESTREAM DRX-Revolution Mobile X-ray System captures portable imaging studies for ER and OR patients as well as inpatients. The staff uses CARESTREAM DRX Plus detectors in 25 x 30 cm and 35 x 43 cm sizes. The portable X-ray system also offers software features that help physicians verify positioning for tube and line placements, according to Foust.

A fully automated CARESTREAM DRX-Evolution Plus system with a fixed wall stand and elevating table captures cross-table, spine, abdomen, long-length, scoliosis and other types of imaging studies. A motorized overhead tube automatically tracks detector movement for fast source-to-detector alignment, which reduces fatigue and repetitive stress injuries for technologists. A remote control lines up the X-ray tube to either Bucky to further streamline the imaging process.

The staff retrofitted its existing radiography/fluoroscopy system with a CARESTREAM DRX Plus 3543 detector to deliver rapid access to patient images.