Slocum Center for Orthopedics & Sports Medicine is home to a team of highly skilled orthopedic multidisciplinary providers. They treat pediatric, trauma, reconstructive, sports medicine patients and have a robust total joint program. Slocum is the Official Orthopedic Sports Medicine Team Physicians for University of Oregon Athletics and has been since 1967.
Located in Eugene Oregon, Slocum has up to 20 providers ordering imaging exams daily. Their main location has four x-ray rooms, two on the 2nd floor and two on the 3rd floor with an exam volume exceeding 4,000 studies per month. Slocum has 6 Canon DR detectors in the four rooms. The site employs 9 full-time x-ray techs. The need for additional exams increased and there was no additional space available to add a new x-ray room or even a single dedicated space for additional imaging. Slocum and Core Medical worked together and brainstormed ideas for a workable solution until we found one!
Slocum purchased a previously-owned portable with a new Canon DR detector and the Canon tablet solution, providing a mobile x-ray solution. While not uncommon in a hospital setting, this is not a standard configuration for x-ray in a clinical setting. In this setting, it was the perfect solution! The Canon tablet in its docking station with the 24” monitor is on a portable cart allowing for movement between the 2ndand 3rd floor. A room on each floor was lead-lined as a precautionary measure allowing the techs to take overflow patients with extremity work to an exam room, freeing up their standard x-ray rooms for more complex exams. In the future, if more space becomes available, the Canon DR detector can be reallocated into a permanent position in a new room and/or be used in any current room in the event there is a need for redundancy.
During one busy month, there were over 100 exams completed with this solution. “It is perfect for hands, wrists, fingers and small non-weight bearing exams,” states Lead Tech Gail Wagenblast. Their next proposed undertaking considers use of this solution in the OR recovery room for post-op exams. We’re excited to see how this works for them there!
