Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has renewed its seven-year Managed Equipment Service (MES) contract with Canon Medical Systems UK, to help provide patient support and clinical continuity in the provision of diagnostic ultrasound systems.
This Welsh healthcare provider’s third MES term with the technology specialist follows a competitive tender bid which involved extensive equipment evaluations across a range of clinical specialities. The ultrasound leadership team in radiology were instrumental in leading the Health Board-wide tender process. Canon Medical says the decision to extend the long-standing partnership with it to 2031 underscores the Health Board’s confidence in it. Over the 20-year collaboration, Canon Medical says its dedicated service – including the provision, maintenance, and replacement of ultrasound systems – has resulted in ‘100% clinical uptime on equipment, ensuring continuity of high-quality scans for clinicians’.
Notably, within one month of signing the contract, Canon Medical successfully replaced 56 ultrasound systems across four sites managed by the Heath Board, with one being the University Hospital of Wales, the UK’s third largest university hospital, and the Principality’s largest hospital..
As part of the installation process, Canon Medical’s Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC)-registered Clinical Applications Specialists provided extensive training for around 250 Health Board clinicians on the new systems, focusing on equipment set-up, new features and technologies. Clinical Application Specialists and Engineers completed the new installation within just a few weeks to ensure clinical productivity and patient services were unaffected.
The new equipment, which consists of Aplio i-series Prism Edition, Aplio a550, Aplio A, Xario 200G and Viamo SV7 units, supports the University Health Board in delivering patient-centred care to a population of around 472,400 people living in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan
Dr. Adam Aboalkaz, Consultant radiologist at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, explained: “Canon Medical is among the best providers of ultrasound equipment when it comes to consistency and reproducibility”.
While standardisation across the Health Board sites was important, the new equipment needed to support various departments and specialities. Of the 56 ultrasound systems, 20 were replaced in the Radiology Directorate, 27 fall under the Directorate of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (including foetal medicine), and the rest are for the use of other clinical specialties – such as vascular, emergency medicine, nephrology, podiatry, and neonatal intensive care.
In radiology, Nerys Thomas, Consultant Sonographer at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, and Karen Fido, Superintendent Sonographer at University Hospital Wales, highlighted ‘the exceptional functionality and ergonomics of the ultrasound systems, which enabled continuous service during the transition period’. They said the latest software and advanced ultrasound technology ‘deliver superior image quality across a variety of specialties, allowing clinical teams to make faster, more accurate diagnostic decisions, minimise the need for repeat scans, and ultimately provide a more seamless, patient-centred experience’.
Dr. Aboalkaz added: “The unique Superb Micro-vascular Imaging (SMI) technology integrated in Canon Medical’s equipment is particularly good for liver, renal, and testicular imaging, allowing clinicians more confidence when assessing visceral perfusion. The ease and accuracy of the integrated contrast enhanced ultrasound settings allows for advanced ultrasound practice and massively aids diagnostics. Shear wave elastography and steatosis software (liver package) has been transformative in the assessment of liver disease.”
Pictured, left to right, are Karen Fido, Superintendent sonographer; Tim Palarm, Regional Sales and MES manager, Canon Medical Systems UK; Dr Paul Williams, Principal clinical scientist; Dr. Adam Aboalkaz, Consultant radiologist; Helen Lockyer, and Ultrasound Clinical Applications specialist, Canon Medical Systems UK.
