by Chris Novell along with Ed Heere

We are fortunate to have among our DACS members Edward C. Heere, founder, president and CEO of CoActiv, LLC. Ed brings almost 40 years of both film-based and digital imaging experience to his company. In 2002 he was instrumental in the introduction of the medical industry’s most modern and affordable method of medical image management: PACS. PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications System) is a comprehensive approach to the storage, retrieval, distribution, and presentation of medical images. These images include content from many medical imaging instruments: e.g. X-rays, ultrasound, magnetic resonance, and mammograms. This is the subject on which he will speak at our Tuesday, September 4 General Meeting.

Ed also controls AMSYS Computer, an IT systems, networking and support company that he founded more than 20 years ago. It is Ed’s unique background in both imaging and IT that has contributed to the remarkable success of CoActiv’s EXAM-PACS® product line, already successfully in use in hospitals and independent imaging centers across the country.

Ed will elaborate on how thorough the approach is for making medical images easily accessible through PACS while at the same time keeping them secure and reliably available. Local installations include: Griffin Hospital in Derby, CT, New Milford Hospital, Northern Westchester Hospital in Mt. Kisco, NY, Gaylord Hospital in CT, Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, NY, Putnam Hospital in Carmel, NY, Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, NY, Northeast Radiology in Brewster, NY, Mt. Kisco Radiology, Mt Kisco, NY, and multiple imaging centers and Orthopedic Centers throughout NY & CT. CoActiv also has installations from Rhode Island to San Diego, CA and from New York to Florida.

CoActiv Medical, a Connecticut based innovator in PACS technology, provides complete medical digital imaging to hospitals and imaging centers nationwide. CoActiv unites all medical imaging in a facility into a single acquisition, viewing, distribution and archiving solution. Radiology, Cardiology, Mammography, Orthopedics and treatment planning are integrated for easy access for single site facilities as well as multi-site urban medical enterprises.

Cost is no longer an excuse for not having PACS at a hospital. CoActiv Medical has consistently been able to convert hospitals from film to digital imaging for less than their current film expenses. In fact it is often possible to provide both PACS and CR (Computed Radiography) to give a complete film-less conversion for less than a current film based budget.

In addition to a general overview of the many advantages of PACS, Ed will also give detailed financial examples of how many hospitals have made this transition… from a small 30 bed regional facility to several 200+ bed urban medical centers. Current advances in both digital-imaging and IT, combined with innovative programming, software and systems development, now brings the advantages of PACS to hospitals, regardless of size and budget restraints. A facility can easily have all the advantages of PACS for less than the cost of film.

It appears that medical digital imaging is one of the areas where technology has been applied with finesse in the area of medical record keeping. Let’s take advantage of our front row seats. Come listen to Ed Heere’s presentation on Tuesday, September 4, 2007.

Ed is also a very long time member of DACS and was also a DACS director for many years and DACS Chairman for several years.

DACS meetings are held at the Danbury Hospital auditorium. (Click here for directions.) Activities begin at 6:30 p.m. with registration and casual networking. The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. with a discussion of what’s new in technology (What's News) followed by a general question and answer period (Ask DACS), announcements and a short break. The featured evening presentation begins at 8:00. As a reminder, our General Meetings are free and open to the public so invite anyone you know who would be interested in this topic.