We also are doing more and more shunts because we have two dialysis units close to us and a lot of those patients end up with access route problems. With the Advantx TC system, we have reduced contrast usage by about one-third and time per study by about half. Our film cost is just a fraction of what it used to be. Cut film also took personnel out of the department just to run films in the processor, not to mention film storage and retrieval costs, film jackets, and so on. When I added it all up, I realized that I had exceeded any projected cost savings.
Examinations are faster and easier.
We have only had to do two cases in the last 10 months in the old room because the TC room was down. In our case, the decision came down to digital flexibility and being comfortable that the digital package could do vascular cases as well as any dedicated vascular lab. One thing that this project really reinforced is the importance of installing multi-purpose rooms. For once, I was actually ahead of the game by seeing an opportunity and going for it. Our patient care capabilities have increased because of this equipment and there is also a significant cost benefit.