Cardiff and Vale University Health Board extends ultrasound MES to 2031
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has renewed its seven-year managed equipment service (MES) contract with Canon Medical Systems UK for a third term to 2031, in order to provide patient support and clinical continuity for diagnostic ultrasound systems. The ultrasound leadership team in radiology was instrumental in leading the health board-wide tender process that involved extensive equipment evaluations across a range of clinical specialities.
Over the 20-year collaboration, Canon Medical says its dedicated service, including the provision, maintenance and replacement of ultrasound systems, has resulted in 100 per cent clinical uptime on equipment, ensuring continuity of high quality scans for clinicians.
Health board consultant radiologist Dr Adam Aboalkaz commented: “Canon Medical is among the best providers of ultrasound equipment when it comes to consistency and reproducibility.”
Within one month of signing the contract, Canon replaced 56 ultrasound systems across four sites, with one of these being the University Hospital of Wales, the third largest university hospital in the UK and the largest hospital in Wales. The new ultrasound systems will enable standardised patient care across departments and clinical specialities.
As part of the installation process, Canon’s team of Health and Care Professions Council-registered clinical application specialists provided extensive training for around 250 clinicians on the new systems, focusing on equipment set-up, new features and technologies. Clinical application specialists and engineers completed the installation within a few weeks to ensure productivity and patient services were unaffected.
The new equipment consists of Aplio i-series Prism Edition, Aplio a550, Aplio A, Xario 200G and Viamo SV7 systems.
While standardisation across the health board sites was important, the new equipment needed to support various departments and specialities. Of the 56 ultrasound systems, 20 were replaced in the radiology directorate, 27 fall under the directorate of obstetrics and gynaecology including fetal medicine and the remainder are for the use of other specialities such as vascular, emergency medicine, nephrology, podiatry and neonatal intensive care.
Dr Aboalkaz added: “The unique superb microvascular imaging technology integrated in Canon Medical’s equipment is particularly good for liver, renal and testicular imaging, allowing clinicians more confidence when assessing visceral perfusion. The ease and accuracy of the integrated contrast-enhanced ultrasound settings allow for advanced ultrasound practice and massively aid diagnostics. Shear wave elastography and steatosis software (liver package) has been transformative in the assessment of liver disease.”
In addition to learning the latest techniques and capabilities on the ultrasound systems, clinicians benefit from ongoing face-to-face clinical applications support and online access to CPD accredited courses delivered via Canon’s Medical Imaging Education platform.
Principal clinical scientist Dr Paul Williams said: “Having access to Canon Medical’s education platform has been immensely beneficial for staff, along with the How-To Guides for each system to supplement the face-to-face support provided. NHS workers operate in a highly stressful environment and often face burnout. These courses and training materials are empowering staff to learn new techniques and capabilities to continue their learning and subsequently support their wellbeing.”
Lead picture: superintendent sonographer Karen Fido, Canon Medical Systems UK regional sales and MES manager Tim Palarm, principal clinical scientist Dr Paul Williams, consultant radiologist Dr Adam Aboalkaz and Canon ultrasound clinical applications specialist Helen Lockyer.
Read this report on page 14 of the January 2025 issue of RAD Magazine.
