Siemens Healthineers has signed a long-term contract to provide imaging systems for London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and St. Joseph's Health Care London in London, Ontario, Canada.
The vendor said it will replace and upgrade the hospitals' MRI, interventional radiology, and cardiology systems throughout the city, as well as provide support services for at least 10 years. The institutions will receive six new MRI systems, including three 3-tesla and three 1.5-tesla scanners.
Siemens will also supply eight interventional radiology, cardiology, and cardiac surgery systems, including three Artis Q biplane units, two Artis Q floor-mounted systems, two Artis Q ceiling-mounted systems, and one Artis Pheno system. Additional systems could also be added in the future, according to the company.
In addition, Siemens is partnering with the two academic teaching hospitals and Western University's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry to create a center of excellence in advanced diagnostic imaging and therapeutics in southwestern Ontario. Siemens said it will provide more than $1 million Canadian ($758,000 U.S.) to support funding for research, advanced clinical applications, teaching, and outcomes analysis in the area of advanced diagnostic imaging and therapeutics.
The fund will support collaboration between research teams in diagnostic and interventional radiology, cardiology, and cardiac surgery to work closely with imaging scientists at the Lawson Health Research Institute -- the research institution of LHSC and St. Joseph's -- and the Robarts Research Institute at Western University, according to Siemens. These teams will work with Siemens scientists to focus on improving the patient experience and outcomes in important cardiovascular and neurological diseases, the vendor said.
Additionally, the research funds will be leveraged against provincial and federal research grants to increase the amount of funds available to the research teams, Siemens said.
