Connect, Compare, Collaborate: Siemens Introduces Cloud-based Healthcare Network

Helping connect healthcare experts and increasing the usability of the wealth of medical imaging data – that’s the goal of “teamplay,”the new solution from Siemens Healthcare. This cloud-based network¹—which Siemens will display at the 100^th Scientific Assembly & Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), Nov. 30 – Dec. 5^th in Chicago—the helps link hospitals and healthcare experts to provide them with the ability to exchange data and pool their knowledge. Within hospitals, “teamplay” makes it possible to evaluate the extensive amount of information generated by imaging devices – e.g. scanner capacity utilization, examination times or radiation doses – and to compare the numbers against in-house and third-party reference values. This means imaging devices can be analyzed in close to real time and their operation optimized based on the results, right down to individual device level. Because “teamplay” runs on tablets, laptops and desktop PCsmembers of the network have flexible access to the information, subject to the appropriate authorization and security measures.

“Siemens Healthcare products are used to diagnose or treat about 200,000 patients around the world every hour. In the process, our customers generate a vast amount of data, buttheycurrently can use only a fraction of the information,” says Arthur Kaindl, CEO of the SYNGO Business Unit at Siemens Healthcare. “‘Teamplay’ is intended to help them combine this data, analyze it and exchange it with other experts, forming the basis for prompt and well informed decision-making.” An easy-to-install DICOM application connectsto the “teamplay” user network. Data relevant for the evaluation is anonymized and encrypted for transmission to the “teamplay” cloud, where it can be accessed at anytime with the appropriate authorization.

The “teamplay” start page allows users to readthe information they want to read – at a glance: how many patients were examined, and how long was the average examination? What was the capacity utilization of the various modalities or the individual scanners? How long was the interval between the individual examinations? In graphical form, “teamplay” provides answers to theseand other questions. It also makes it possible to define target values for these types of parametersand have deviations displayed promptly. This helps customers operate their devices more efficiently and make sound decisions. When it comes to lung cancer screening, for example, which has been recommended recently in the US as a form of preventive medical check-up, “teamplay” can rapidly help determine whether a hospital has sufficient computed tomography (CT) capacity available to perform the expected additional number of scans.

The network can also be used to monitor the doses applied by medical devices – another precondition for healthcare facilities to be able to perform lung cancer screening examinations². As with all examinations involving ionizing radiation, it is essential in these cases to apply dose only as low as reasonably achievable. “Teamplay” can continuously monitor the dose used, broken down by the parts of the body volumes being examined. Here, too, target values can be defined and deviations clearly shown.

“Teamplay” supports radiologists by making images³ and results available securely and in anonymized form to other physicians world-wide to draw on their expertise. This also means that results can be quickly and easily shared between radiologists and referring and treating physicians, to provide the parties involved in treating the patient access to all relevant patient information.

¹ Prerequisites include: Internet connection to clinical network, DICOM compliance, meeting of minimum hardware requirements, and adherence to local data security regulations.

² “teamplay” Dose Management is not intended for the monitoring of individual patient doses.

³ This information about this product is preliminary. It is under development, not commercially available, and its future availability cannot be ensured.