‘We will enhance the patient experience by digitisation’

How is the radiology sector shaping up in India? Where does India stand with respect to the rest of the world?

At this point, we are talking about over 100 years of history in X-Ray, and Healthineers has been in the radiology sector for quite some time now. India is always on the forefront of utilisation of the latest radiology technology, as you can see that most of the latest technical innovations in this field are being launched in India, right from the lowest trend to the highest. Radiology has found and is strengthening its ground in India, especially in diagnostics, imaging and treatment decisions and management. There is a lot of enthusiasm in the radiology community and now these are exciting times for the segment.

What are the most promising upcoming technology trends in 2020?

One trend that stands out is the improvement in patient experience, either through improving productivity or through seeing more than what used to be seen. For example, MRI machines — we have come up with a new technology called MRI fingerprinting which is kind of a quantitative evaluation of MRI images. It essentially gives more information than what could be extracted from MRI images. We are also seeing a lot of productivity measure which drives the system faster, reduces the patient waiting time and reduces the patient’s time inside the scanning machine. We have launched the latest technology like compressed sensing which does faster imaging without compromising the quality of the imaging, Also, there is now simultaneous multi-slice imaging in MRI machines which gives multiple slices at a time. For CT scanners, we have brought new technology that allows the operator to be new to the patient and we have introduced a tablet-based workflow — a single tablet can now control a CT scan. It all adds to an enhanced patient experience as the operator can stand near the patient while doing data entry.

Are you launching any new product at IRIA 2020?

Yes, we will be launching the latest model in our range of ultrasound machines, called ACUSON Redwood Ultrasound System. Our goal is to bring high-end technology that is affordable in this segment.

What is your particular focus in 2020?

Our focus in 2020 will be to enhance the patient experience by digitisation. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of our focusses, and we hope that its inclusion will weed out any routine job that is monotonous and focus on high-end application. We foresee that these new technologies will empower our customers and patients as well.

AI is being used in most productions — many of our products are being launched with AI-enabler which aim at error-free observations and give our users an effective decision making support. We call our AI tools as ‘AI Rad companions’, which will assist our customers in routine operations and better time management.

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