Creative Emergency Department Eliminates X-Ray Room

The new Crouse Hospital (Syracuse, NY, USA) emergency department (ED) will use portable digital radiography to provide rapid image access.

The new ER will be built on top of Crouse's new surgical suite building, adjacent to the existing ER, at a cost of USD 35 million, and will open in late 2017. It will include 46 treatment rooms on a clinical space larger than 4,700 m², three times the size of the current ED, which was built in 1972. As part of the project, the existing ER will be converted to an urgent care space for patients with non-emergency illnesses and injuries, a service currently provided across the street at the PromptCare office. That office will be eliminated when the ER project is completed in 2018.


Plans call for the ED to be equipped with a computerized tomography (CT) system, as well as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system to be located in an adjacent area. But trauma patients in need of X-ray exams on their chest, abdomen, arms, legs and other extremities will have them done at the point of care via two Carestream (Rochester, NY, USA) DRX-Revolution mobile X-ray systems that features a small footprint, exceptional maneuverability, excellent image quality, and wireless communication of X-ray exams.

The images will thus be available for review by physicians in seconds. Those patients requiring cross-table, C-spine, or other complex X-ray exams will be transported to the hospital’s existing radiology department, as will bariatric patients. An additional benefit of the new arrangement is that since the hospital will not construct an ED X-ray room, not only will the waiting room will be larger but also will save over USD 250,000 in construction costs.

“We purchased a Carestream DRX-Revolution Mobile X-ray System for our new ED because it is easy to maneuver and enables technologists to quickly and easily capture high-quality images of seriously ill or injured patients,” said Brad Hellwig, director of radiology at Crouse Hospital. “Physicians can view images in seconds and the system also has special software that enhances visualization of tubes and lines, which is especially important for urgent care patients.”

Crouse Hospital is Central New York's largest provider of maternity care services, delivering more than 4,200 babies annually, and is the state-designated regional referral center for high-risk neonatal intensive care services. Crouse also operates two ambulatory surgery centers near the main hospital complex. Other specialties include a comprehensive diagnostic and interventional cardiac care; surgical services, including robotic surgery; orthopedics; stroke care; oncology; and a hospital-based chemical dependency treatment services.

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