Founded in 1983, the NGHA covers four cities scattered across Saudi Arabia: Jeddah, Dammam, Al-Ahsa and the capital Riyadh. With a strong presence in the latter, the hospital plays a pioneering role in the country’s healthcare development. As an example for smaller hospitals, NGHA wanted to uphold its reputation as a forerunner in first-class medical technology. That ambition was the paramount factor in its choice for Barco. “For our new diagnostic displays, we needed the best-in-class technology,” comments Dr. Ali S. Alwabil, chairman of the medical imaging department . “Barco is not only the best known and trusted healthcare brand among Saudi hospitals, but easily surpasses other solutions in terms of image quality and reliability. That made our decision fairly easy.” 

State-of-the art radiology department 
The NGHA radiologists were looking for superior image quality with reliable, worry-free calibration and quality assurance in order to make accurate primary diagnostic decisions. Barco’s 30’’ widescreen, bezel-free, Coronis Fusion product line matches and even exceeds those expectations. It allows radiologists to examine 2D and 3D images from multiple modalities on a single screen while having 33% more workspace, thus facilitating improved workflow and faster reading. Besides the displays, Barco supplied MediCal QAWeb Premium. Enabling intervention-free calibration and high-grade quality assurance, the cloud-based MediCal QAWeb software suite ensures complete diagnostic confidence and accuracy. 

Clinical, operational and financial benefits 
Both solutions take the hospital’s diagnostic precision to the next level. “We have made great strides in three domains,” explains Dr. Alwabil. “In terms of clinical benefits, the quantity, accuracy and reliability of the diagnoses have increased dramatically. On an operational level, the uptime of our displays has never been so high, and our precious IT resource freed-up thanks to the remote desk features of MediCal QAWeb Premium such as global fleet and asset management services, full audit trail, budget, MQSA and regulatory reports, and automatic problem solving and alerts. Last but not least, the Barco solution meets our financial ambitions. Installation and operation costs have decreased, as well as the total cost of ownership.” 

The installation of Barco’s Coronis Fusion display systems and the MediCal QAWeb Premium suite was part of a structured PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) program. The NGHA is determined to extend the partnership with Barco, as new investments in visualization technologies are currently being deployed.