Agfa and Free University of Brussels in agreement to develop healthcare
IT and imaging solutions
18 April 2007 Mortsel & Brussels, Belgium. Agfa HealthCare and the
Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel hospital, linked to the Vrije Universiteit
Brussel university (Free University of Brussels) have signed a long-term
research agreement to develop hospital IT and diagnostic imaging solutions.
The contract covers core projects designed to improve clinical IT
workflow solutions, including patient scheduling, reporting, medical
documentation, image management and advanced decision support, and to
deliver next-generation clinical imaging applications. The agreement is
part of an extensive research program run by Agfa HealthCare across a number
of academic institutions, as well as national and international healthcare
initiatives. In support of the agreement, Agfa HealthCare and the
Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel hospital have set up a professorial chair to
help advance research related to healthcare informatics and medical image
processing. “This level of co-operation is key to the future of
healthcare, which requires collaboration between academic and industrial
partners, bringing the best of both worlds together for the benefit of
patients worldwide,” said Philippe Houssiau, President of Agfa HealthCare.
“Our agreement with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel university will allow us
to actively continue our pursuit of evidence based solutions and innovations
to meet the ever growing needs of our customers in the near future”. “The
research programs which we have agreed to undertake today will help ensure
that academics and industrial partners are continuously innovating, for the
benefit of clinicians and their patients worldwide,“ states Professor Doctor
Marc Noppen, Managing Director of the Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel
hospital, “Together with Agfa HealthCare we will strive for ever evolving
and improving healthcare solutions, delivering next generation applications
for tomorrow’s hospital environments.”
Recent research supported by Agfa Healthcare has revealed that European
hospitals are increasingly investing in IT infrastructure to improve their
overall efficiency, with over 42% of hospitals surveyed currently spending
between 2 and 5% of their annual operating budget on IT solutions (1). This
level of spending is expected to increase over the coming years, with 75% of
all hospitals surveyed indicating that IT solutions are already a key
strategic requirement for them in the short term. 1. 2007
Leader Health — HIMMS Analytics Health Care Leaders Report: The changing
landscape of Healthcare IT Management and governance. Over 200 hospitals in
14 European countries were surveyed) To top
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