Putting Patients First Grant Funded by Canon and AHRA

Putting Patients First

AHRA & Canon Medical Systems Putting Patients First Grants Enhance Safety in Imaging

The AHRA & Canon Medical Systems Putting Patients First program seeks to improve patient care and safety in diagnostic imaging for pediatrics and adults through offering grants to fund programs, trainings and seminars at local hospitals and imaging centers. The winning grant programs are selected by the AHRA and are dedicated to improving patient care and developing best imaging practices in the areas of CT, MR, Ultrasound and X-ray.

The Putting Patients First Program provides six grants of up to $7,500 each to hospitals and imaging centers and an additional grant of up to $20,000 to an Integrated Delivery Network (IDN) to fund programs, trainings or seminars aimed at improving patient care and safety in CT, MR, Ultrasound, X-ray and Vascular imaging. Three of the $7,500 grants are awarded for projects that improve pediatric imaging, while the other three are awarded for projects that improve overall patient care and safety in imaging. The grant of up to $20,000 is awarded to an IDN or hospital system for projects that improve overall patient care and safety in imaging across the IDN/hospital system.

2017 Grant Recipients Include:

The IDN grant has been awarded to:

  • Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, Mass.) — Will add in-bore lighting and a cinematic projector to help ease pediatric patients’ and parents’ anxiety during imaging exams and potentially eliminate the use of anesthesia.

Pediatric grants have been awarded to:

  • Altru Health System (Grand Forks, N.D.) — Will create educational materials to explain the imaging process to families, enhance room appearance with calm lighting and artwork and provide visual diversions with projected images on the walls and ceilings to make imaging exams more comfortable for pediatric patients.
  • Children's Hospital & Medical Center Foundation (Omaha, Neb.) — Can expand its 3D Printing Program, which will allow physicians to more effectively and safely treat heart defects, with better visualization of pediatric patients’ hearts with 3D models.
  • Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (Los Angeles, Calif.) — Will complete and publish a study to improve the understanding of the role of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) following transabdominal ultrasound as an ideal noninvasive tool without the use of ionizing radiation for pediatric patients.

Overall patient care and safety grants have been awarded to:

  • CARTI Cancer Center (Little Rock, Ark.) — Will fund blanket warmers for all patients undergoing exams in cool imaging rooms to provide comfort and reduce the need to use valium, so that clinicians can capture better images and avoid repeat exams.
  • Nemaha Valley Community Hospital (Seneca, Kan.) — Will purchase a portable ultrasound unit, to be shared between its outpatient clinic and OB and ER departments, to help physicians evaluate fetal heartbeats or check fetal positioning quickly.
  • UT Health: The University of Texas Health Science Center (Houston, Texas) — Will create educational videos that provide patients with accurate information relating to the procedures they are about to undergo, to reduce anxiety and help them to be prepared.