Pukka-j recently supplied their image viewing solution to two hospitals in the Netherlands. Spaarne Ziekenhuis, Hoofdorp and Kennemer Gasthius, Haarlem share nuclear medicine facilities, where presently they have, between the two sites, one PET/CT system and three gamma cameras. At the moment, the doctors work with existing Osirix software for viewing images. However, as this is limited to only working with Apple Macintosh Computers, the clinicians wanted a good SPECT/CT, PET/CT image viewing system that could be used at both hospital sites.
The Pukka-j image viewer is a highly customisable image reporting tool for displaying and reporting all diagnostic quality image data. The viewer is feature-rich with a range of intelligent tools offering modality and specific formats and the ability to compare and manipulate studies simultaneously. The viewer provides a complete stand-alone service, or fits seamlessly with all existing PAS/PACS/RIS and imaging devices. The service can be deployed as a desktop or web-based application and the viewer can be used as a workstation viewer or as web viewer. In addition, there are specific viewers for Nuclear Medicine, PET/CT and radiotherapy.
Edwin Timmermans, System Applications Specialist at the two locations says:
“We purchased the Pukka-j solution to complement two SPECT-CT systems at Kennemer Gasthuis and a third one at Spaarne Ziekenhuis. We wanted a good SPECT/CT and PET/CT image viewing system that our clinicians could use from both hospitals. We are finding the Pukka-j system very flexible and the team’s knowledge is of a high level. They are very reactive to our needs and it is refreshing to work with a software company that is prepared to develop their product to fit precisely within our specification.”
The Pukka-j image viewer is used with the hospitals’ new Microsoft windows workstations that feature Quad displays; dual Barco 2 megapixel colour diagnostic monitors to display the SPECT/CT studies and two standard pc monitors to work with the radiology RIS/PACS. Pukka-j provided a URL interface to enable their image viewer to be launched from either of the existing RIS/PACS systems. The primary users of the system are the nuclear medicine physicians, but the technicians also able to access it for viewing purposes.
Edwin continues,
“We are hoping, at a future date, to introduce the Pukka-j viewer into the Cardiology and Oncology departments at our hospitals.”
Spaarne Ziekenhuis is a full-service hospital with 455 beds, 120 physicians and 600 nurses who are responsible for 18,000 patients with an estimated 300,000 outpatient visits per year. Kennemer Gasthuis is a top clinical hospital with two locations in Haarlem where it has been based for over four hundred years.