When clearance is given, Children's will be the company's first clinical site for digital x-ray technology, Albertina said. Three CR units, all from Kodak, are already in place at the hospital. Two are in the main radiology department, with a third in the emergency room. DR systems will eventually replace the CR systems for all but portable x-ray products, if the Cares Built technology pans out. In keeping with its pioneering spirit, Children's was an alpha site for Kodak, just as it expects to be one for Cares Built.
Alpha sites receive a lot of attention from vendors.
Purchase agreements with Cares Built and Kodak included statements that the companies provide staff on site to work with the products, according to Albertina. Being a leader is part of the equation that defines cost-justification. Without such help, the cost of CR readers and direct capture equipment can be a budget buster. Yet to institutions dedicated to going digital, capital expenditures are secondary. Even at MGH, however, administrators must acknowledge economic realities.