Guatemala City, Guatemala

In February of 2011, a contingent of Rotarians from District 6440 visited Guatemala City to help dedicate the first digital X-ray system donated by Rotary. It was located in a clinic in City Centre in Guatemala City. Present for the ribbon cutting were Carlos Frum, Governor elect of 6440. Bruce Baumberger, the Governor, the Mayor of Guatemala City and John Vanden Brink from the Rotary Club of Park Ridge who led the project.

To demonstrate the technology, John had his hand x-rayed with the new digital technology. Several minutes later, the X-rayed hand appeared on the system CRT. It became immediately obvious to those present who were well familiar with the capabilities of the internet that this system would replace film and provide access to any location in the world. It was an “aha” moment.  This project was supported by six Rotary Clubs in northeastern Illinois and a Rotary District in Guatemala, with matching grants from the Rotary Foundation.

While digital imaging systems are commonplace in medical practice in industrialized countries, these systems are still in the early adoption phase in developing countries.  Until now, the systems have been available only in the largest hospitals and afforded only by the affluent.

This digital X-ray installation represents a pioneering effort, in which Rotary is a leading partner, to establish a pilot site for demonstrating the feasibility and clinical application of the technology in developing countries.

The system is being installed at a municipal clinic called Salud y Bienestar Municipal Direccion in Guatemala City.  It eliminates the need for film and chemicals, a dark room, and film processing equipment and provides virtually immediate access to the images while the patient is still in the clinic. Individual patient images can be provided to each patient in the form of CDs or flash drives.

Internet connectivity enables images to be sent to local, off-site radiologists, who can consult with the physicians at the clinic.  Access to expert consultation by radiologists, wherever they may be located, helps to overcome the absence of radiologists in remote locations.  Internet connectivity also enables electronic storage and retrieval from massive databases structured to service multiple locations. 

This imaging system can be used to help diagnose trauma injuries, lung disease, including tuberculosis, heart disease, and a host of other medical conditions. Fractured limbs can be set properly and disease diagnosed more accurately, quickly, and earlier with the availability of this health care technology.

Rural farmers, who could be immobilized for months by injury, could have broken limbs set and be back to work, with the aid of the imaging technology.  Furthermore, health data entered into the system may be de-identified and used by public health departments to understand and track disease trends throughout the community and region.

“The pilot site in Guatemala City will provide an easily accessible location to research and develop diagnostic imaging solutions for the developing world and a basis for replicating this technology in multiple sites within Guatemala and elsewhere,” said John Vanden Brink, Rotary’s project coordinator.

The system consists of a Sedecal X-ray system (WHIS-RAD) that is compliant with specifications set out by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).  The digital component of the WHIS-RAD consists of a Carestream Computed Radiography (CR), a Hewlett-Packard workstation, server and multiple viewing stations, Merge PACS software, and Internet connectivity. The digital components were selected to ensure the simplicity and utility of the system. 

In February of 2011, a contingent of Rotarians from District 6440 visited Guatemala City to help dedicate the first digital X-ray system donated by Rotary. It was located in a clinic in City Centre in Guatemala City. Present for the ribbon cutting were Carlos Frum, Governor elect of 6440. Bruce Baumberger, the Governor, the Mayor of Guatemala City and John Vanden Brink from the Rotary Club of Park Ridge who led the project.

To demonstrate the technology, John had his hand x-rayed with the new digital technology. Several minutes later, the X-rayed hand appeared on the system CRT. It became immediately obvious to those present who were well familiar with the capabilities of the internet that this system would replace film and provide access to any location in the world. It was an “aha” moment.  This project was supported by six Rotary Clubs in northeastern Illinois and a Rotary District in Guatemala, with matching grants from the Rotary Foundation.

While digital imaging systems are commonplace in medical practice in industrialized countries, these systems are still in the early adoption phase in developing countries.  Until now, the systems have been available only in the largest hospitals and afforded only by the affluent.

This digital X-ray installation represents a pioneering effort, in which Rotary is a leading partner, to establish a pilot site for demonstrating the feasibility and clinical application of the technology in developing countries.

The system is being installed at a municipal clinic called Salud y Bienestar Municipal Direccion in Guatemala City.  It eliminates the need for film and chemicals, a dark room, and film processing equipment and provides virtually immediate access to the images while the patient is still in the clinic. Individual patient images can be provided to each patient in the form of CDs or flash drives.

Internet connectivity enables images to be sent to local, off-site radiologists, who can consult with the physicians at the clinic.  Access to expert consultation by radiologists, wherever they may be located, helps to overcome the absence of radiologists in remote locations.  Internet connectivity also enables electronic storage and retrieval from massive databases structured to service multiple locations. 

This imaging system can be used to help diagnose trauma injuries, lung disease, including tuberculosis, heart disease, and a host of other medical conditions. Fractured limbs can be set properly and disease diagnosed more accurately, quickly, and earlier with the availability of this health care technology.

Rural farmers, who could be immobilized for months by injury, could have broken limbs set and be back to work, with the aid of the imaging technology.  Furthermore, health data entered into the system may be de-identified and used by public health departments to understand and track disease trends throughout the community and region.

“The pilot site in Guatemala City will provide an easily accessible location to research and develop diagnostic imaging solutions for the developing world and a basis for replicating this technology in multiple sites within Guatemala and elsewhere,” said John Vanden Brink, Rotary’s project coordinator.

The system consists of a Sedecal X-ray system (WHIS-RAD) that is compliant with specifications set out by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).  The digital component of the WHIS-RAD consists of a Carestream Computed Radiography (CR), a Hewlett-Packard workstation, server and multiple viewing stations, Merge PACS software, and Internet connectivity. The digital components were selected to ensure the simplicity and utility of the system.