Wednesday, November 25, 2009

With Its New Lighting, Siemens Wants to Improve Clinical Environments

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At the 2009 congress of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago next week, Siemens will be presenting new lighting offerings for clinical settings that aim at improving patient experience. The company believes that by creating an attractive atmosphere, in contrast to the common ultra-utilitarian look of modern facilities, patient clinical courses will be improved and clinicians will have a better work environment.

Light tubes - operated via computer to emit different light colors - can be mounted on walls. Walls and ceilings can be attractively decorated with different motifs such as a mountain landscape and a blue sky with clouds. With a special software program, the operator can choose from the full color spectrum at will and combine different tints. A special system for the MRI room works with a large number of small LEDs (light-emitting diodes) mounted on the ceiling that light up the entire room in color.

The Center for Diagnostic Radiology at Butzbach near Frankfurt has achieved very positive experiences with Healthcare Lighting: "Distracting patients is especially important to us in CT scans," says Dr. Farschad Tabesch, radiologist at the Butzbach Center for Diagnostic Radiology. "This is where we perform pain treatments using periradicular therapy [PRT] or facet blocks [FAB].

Patients come to us with a long history of pain. And then, many of them are afraid to undergo the treatment. The light installation makes a huge contribution to helping these patients relax.“

Economic figures in Butzbach clearly show that the investment and comprehensive patient-oriented approach are well worth-while. Now, only about one percent of patients have to be sedated before undergoing an MRI scan. "I used to work at a "normal" practice, where I always had two or three sedations each day. Here, almost all of our claustrophobic patients can make it through the procedure without sedation. Before, I often experienced cases where these kinds of patients just jumped right out of the unit – something that hasn’t happened here," Dr. Tabesch reports.

Press release: Light and color: Healthcare Lighting presented by Siemens...

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