Medical Imaging Devices are an essential part of diagnostics, monitoring and management of patients today. The industry has come a long way since the first X-ray images were taken for diagnostic purposes way back in 1896 after X-rays were discovered accidentally as part of Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen’s work on Cathode Ray Tubes.
In the early days, the potential harmful effects of over-exposure were not yet known leading to widespread use of the technology for non-medical purposes until around 1940. Photo studios offering to take skeletal photographs of a people obsessed with ghosts and shoe stores offering free X-Rays so people could see the bones in their feet are unthinkable today but not so in the initial heady days of the technology.
It has been a fascinating journey tracing the development of various medical diagnostic devices that started as stand-alone components and have progressively evolved in to being part of a sophisticated family of devices that are today effectively deployed to manage patient outcomes.
A bulky problem
Medical diagnostic imaging progressed rapidly in the post-World War II era with Ultrasound imaging in 1956, CT scans in 1971 and MRIs in 1980 and PET CT in relatively more recent times.
All the initial versions of these scanners suffered from one major drawback – they were large and heavy, and this meant that patients had to be brought to the machines which can be challenging for mobility-affected patients, particularly for those residing in remote locations.
The industry has innovatively applied advances in technology in other seemingly unrelated areas of technology to shrink the devices and make them safer for patients.
ALARA
A primary area of design focus in the service of patient safety that the industry has adopted is the concept of ALARA – As low As Reasonably Acceptable. Good image quality is aided by higher levels of radiation and patient safety requires lower levels of radiation.
The industry is constantly working towards reducing radiation while improving image quality and this is a key point of product differentiation in the market and is the ruling industry mantra in the 21st century. Improvements in detector technology have been a key contributor to making ALARA a reality. A very desirable outcome is the significant reduction in weight and size of the equipment helping to bring the imaging centre to the patients when appropriate rather than the other way around.
Industry standards in Imaging
The 1990’s and early 2000 saw the development of DICOM as a medical imaging industry standard for communication and storage of images due to the unified approach of manufacturers who saw value in driving towards this goal. The advances in wireless internet technology has opened up a plethora of opportunities as well as challenges in medical imaging.
Distributed Architecture of Electronics
Imaging systems have benefitted from advances in Mobile phone technology which in turn resulted in shrinking the size of electronic chips while squeezing out more computing power and using lower levels of power.
CANBUS (Controller Area Network bus architecture) – a communication protocol and architecture that was originally developed by the automobile industry has been adopted by the imaging industry. This has enabled the computing intelligence required for image processing to be distributed into various reusable functional modules. This again has led to more compact designs and underpins the ability of scale.
AI in Medical Imaging
The opportunity for innovation has now a new frontier. Artificial Intelligence promises be a game changer in terms of enhancing the capability and productivity of Radiologists. AI can now read thousands of images and filter the images that need special attention. Potential for scalability in reporting is immense.
Medical Imaging today
The confluence of these advances and developments has led to the industry’s ability to make machines significantly smaller, requiring less radiation dose, improved connectivity and powered by AI. Today, imaging equipment can be taken on the road to where a patient resides. A van equipped with a CT Scanner can get to the doorstep of a potential stroke patient in less time than the patient can reach the hospital improving the prognosis for the patient. Patients can be scanned at a remote location, images sent wirelessly to the Radiologist and diagnosis can be undertaken in the Radiologists office all in real time. The benefit to patients living in rural or regional places with small populations cannot be overstated. Compact CT scanners, Xray machines and ultrasound scanners installed on a trailer or a truck has the potential to become the Imaging department for many towns and hospitals radically improving patient outcomes.
The Future
Medical Imaging is diagnostic today and the ability to combine the data from Genetics, Pathology with Imaging is likely to bring out Predictive Diagnosis. It may be possible to predict the probability of cancer, fractures, Stroke, cardiac events and approximate timing as well in future with the power of combined data.
Introduction to Prakash Subbarao
Dynamic Sales & Techno Marketing professional with an exemplary track record from three leading brands in Healthcare industry. Demonstrated capability to strategise, inspire and motivate cross functional teams to achieve outstanding business performance. Mature thinker, excellent communicator and a skilled networker with proven outcome in negotiating complex transactions with multiple stakeholders. Have demonstrated success in business development, Market strategy and business management
Currently enjoying the creativity, freedom & flexibility of Entrepreneurship in leading Inline Systems and EPIC-X which are highly specialized in Medical Imaging industry
By Prakash Subbarao, Managing Director of Inline Systems
