ONTARIO, NOVEMBER 2022 – Grand River Hospital (GRH) and KA Imaging are partnering on an innovative commercialization project supported by the Coordinated Accessible National (CAN) Health Network. Looking to transform existing hospital x-ray technology, GRH is adding a device that is designed to produce higher-resolution images for improved patient monitoring and faster, more accurate diagnosis to its intensive care unit (ICU).

The Reveal™ 35C created by KA Imaging, is a single-exposure, portable, digital dual-energy subtraction X-ray detector. The technology produces images that separate soft tissue and bones and are much higher resolution creating images that are easier to read. It also uses the same radiation dose as a traditional X-ray to create 3 different images without blurring or streaking due to patient movement.

“Dual energy x-ray technology has been around for years, but it’s the first time we can really benefit from it” explains Carla Girolametto, Director of Innovation and Research at GRH. According to Girolametto, Director of Innovation and Research at GRH, older versions of the technology are very limited, as they need dedicated rooms, require more radiation than traditional X-ray and can have image quality issues. The high cost of implementation also prevents adoption. KA Imaging’s device, on the other hand, solves these problems and can be retrofitted onto existing x-ray machines, including portable machines. “This means that hospitals can upgrade existing x-ray units to create images that are close to CT image quality without significantly increasing the radiation dose – compared to traditional x-ray – while using the units they already have” says Girolametto.

KA Imaging’s Reveal™ 35C has been installed on one of Grand River Hospital’s portable x-ray machines and will help clinicians validate patient tube and line placements as well as monitor the health of patients to prevent respiratory conditions. Success metrics that will be measured during this project in GRH’s real-time environment include image quality, impact on work processes, and the need for more images given the high quality of images the RevealTM 35C can produce.

“My team and I in the ICU are excited to put to use a novel method of analyzing the information in a relatively routine tool, the chest X-ray,” says Dr. Paul Hosek, staff intensivist at Grand River Hospital. “We hope this provides additional necessary bedside information that we can put to use saving lives.”

“This is an exciting project and we are pleased to partner with Grand River Hospital to support innovation that will improve patient care and outcomes,” says Amol Karnick, president and CEO of KA Imaging. “This is a great opportunity for Grand River Hospital and KA Imaging to be a showcase for Canadian hospitals, especially the ones that are overburdened and feeling the pressure in their emergency rooms and ICUs” says Karnick.

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