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MUSC pens $40-million deal with Siemens  by Mary Helen Yarborough Public Relations MUSC and Siemens Medical Solutions have entered into a five-year, $40-million strategic alliance that will bring leading-edge diagnostic technologies to MUSC’s departments of radiology and cardiology.   The agreement will include introducing the latest technology in MUSC’s Heart & Vascular Center, which brings together advanced cardiology and interventional radiology services in the same facility. Medical staff and patients at MUSC will have access to Siemens systems in areas including angiography, digital radiography, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET).   “MUSC has world renowned cardiologists and radiologists. With this Seimens agreement we now have the best equipment to go with the best doctors, which makes us unique,” said Michael Gold, M.D., Ph.D., director of MUSC’s Heart and Vascular Center. “This agreement with Siemens’ cutting edge technology further enables our physicians to provide the highest quality of care for the detection and treatment of cardiac disease.”   As part of the alliance, MUSC and Siemens will collaborate on research and development activities. Researchers will employ breakthrough technologies while MUSC’s clinical experts help advance applications of diagnostic imaging. Siemens also will work closely with MUSC’s clinical care teams to streamline health care workflow processes, anticipate clinical and patient needs within the communities it serves, and incorporate emerging technologies to support MUSC’s vision for advanced patient care.   “The collaboration has allowed us earlier access to advance medical technology, whether hardware or software,” said Philip Costello, M.D., chair of MUSC’s Department of Radiology. “We are able to apply this technology in patient care ahead of other leading institutions in the United States.”   An example of Siemens technology utilized at MUSC is the recently installed SOMATOM Definition dual-source CT system, which incorporates two X-ray sources and two detectors in a single scanner. With the ability to capture data twice as fast as the most advanced multi-slice CT technology, the system is enabling MUSC physicians to obtain motion-free cardiac images, independent of heart rate, without the need to slow the heart with beta blocker medications as with other CT scanners. MUSC was among the first five facilities in the United States to obtain this technology.   “This is a significant step in MUSC’s quest to become a fully digital hospital thus vastly improving efficiency, quality, and safety in the care delivery process,” said Frank Clark, Ph.D., MUSC CIO and vice president of information technology.   Through this alliance, imaging equipment will share the Siemens syngo operating platform, which has a standard user interface and enables operational and workflow improvements such as faster training of physicians and staff.   “Our alliance with MUSC enables leading-edge Siemens technologies to be best leveraged to support of MUSC’s mission to bring the highest quality patient care to South Carolina,” said Heinrich Kolem, president, Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. “More than providing the best in diagnostic imaging equipment, we look forward to working with a world-renowned facility like MUSC to advance patient care of the processes of health care …through innovative research and development initiatives.”   All technology provided through this agreement is supported by Siemens’ Service Organization group to ensure MUSC maximizes its technology and return on investment. Siemens and MUSC also signed an Integrated Service Management agreement that covers all the hospital’s medical technologies. Through the agreement, Siemens provides on-site management of service related issues, provides educational programs, coordinates vendors and implements new processes to fit MUSC’s needs.     Friday, Nov. 17, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.