Quality Management Software and Datacenter for Medical X-Ray Imaging
Summary
A US patient safety organization wanted to extend its medical image quality program with a dedicated quality management system and datacenter. INNERLUXES built a .NET solution that collects and stores X-ray exam records together with their images, lets radiologists and physicians log feedback on image quality, and processes the collected data into quality rating reports that pinpoint the root cause of scan errors — from inadequate technologist actions to equipment malfunctions and process deficiencies.
About the Client
The Client is a US patient safety organization that provides health systems with statistical quality analysis of medical images and related consultation services.
The Challenge
The Client needed an image quality management system, backed by a datacenter, to complement its existing quality assessment and improvement product. That product is a data-processing solution built to detect the source of questionable medical image quality, serving as a communication bridge among radiologists, technologists, and managers who work opposite shifts and across distributed locations.
The Solution
INNERLUXES delivered a quality management system that collects and stores exam records with images. Each record captures a defined set of attributes:
- Accession number
- Date and time
- Location — examination room, department, and facility
- Exam type
- Shift and performing technologist
- Patient information — name, age, and gender
These exam details form the basis for tracking and healthcare data analytics. Through an "Edit Detractions" form, users such as physicians and radiologists can record feedback on image quality — the nature and severity of any detraction — and enter exam results manually when needed.
Based on that feedback, managers can identify the source of a quality issue:
- Inadequate technologist actions
- Patient-related difficulties — for example, the patient moving during the X-ray scan
- Equipment limitations or malfunctions
- Process deficiencies
The datacenter then processes the collected exam records, feedback, and quality-issue sources to compile a quality rating (QR) report. Using the QR report, a manager can decide whether a particular source should be investigated and corrected — for example, comparing QRs across modalities to identify a troublesome location, or comparing QRs across shifts to detect the lowest-performing shift.
The Results
- The imaging quality management system and datacenter give users an organized approach to collecting and analyzing imaging error data, automating the routine aspects of care.
- The solution is used for health systems' internal purposes, such as cost reports, statistics, and more.
Technologies and Tools
.NET, Crystal Reports, MS Access, MS SQL Server, MS Visual Studio, Web Services, XML.