X-ray Technology Increases Healthcare Accessibility

Q: How did Carestream adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic?

A: The COVID-19 pandemic was a lesson for everyone, teaching us that the health system has many vulnerabilities from a technological point of view that need to be addressed. We also learned a great deal about our responsiveness in manufacturing, logistics and delivery systems. We have been able to capitalize on all the lessons learned to strengthen our processes and improve healthcare accessibility.

Mexico’s population is mainly concentrated in large cities but a significant percentage is dispersed across rural areas. During the pandemic, we supported health systems by setting up hospitals and clinics to provide care for the population spread across those vast territories. Our portfolio of mobile X-ray equipment was essential for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19. In addition to our products, we also provided maintenance and support to hospitals and clinics.

We also were able to responsibly manage lockdown thanks to our digital platforms. During the most critical period of the pandemic, paradigms about work and business were broken. Collaboration and responsibility were essential since we all had to get used to working under lockdown conditions. We have maintained our hybrid work mode and it has taught us a great deal about productivity and time management.

Q: What should be the role of regulation in allowing the country to embrace technologies like that provided by Carestream?

A: Regulations are essential and must be strengthened in Mexico due to the inherent risks of marketing unregulated equipment, medicines and health services. To have a solid institution to control and regulate such products and services is critical. In Mexico, we need to work to strengthen COFEPRIS, make it more efficient to benefit the population´s health to a greater extent.

Q: What does healthcare accessibility look like in Mexico? 

A: The pandemic taught us that our product portfolio has to consist of efficient equipment that allows access to healthcare in different conditions. In Mexico, like in many Latin American countries, there are technology requirements that force us to develop solutions for the specific infrastructure and to meet budgetary needs. Within the private health system there are clinics, hospitals and health groups that have highly advanced infrastructure and technology; however, the bulk of private sector hospitals and clinics are far behind. They all have different accessibility conditions. 

In the public sector, health institutes have the most equipment and infrastructure but also have accessibility limitations due to their budget or location. We must continue to work with the authorities to make technology accessible to the majority of the population.

Q: How is Carestream working to train future radiologists in new technologies?

A: We are incorporating AI into our products to deliver more accurate X-ray images and provide better diagnoses. Technology is more intuitive now and we are taking advantage of it to facilitate the use of our equipment. In addition, our X-rays emit little radiation so their impact is minimal.

We also have ongoing programs with radiology federations in Mexico and with institutions that have education programs for radiologists. We support them and participate in their research projects. We also help their members get certified and stay up-to-date.

Q: What are your main goals for 2023?

A: We are ready to launch new, high-tech products that will offer greater accessibility to different market segments. We will offer new mobile, detectors and X-Ray rooms with AI applications, segments in which we are already world leaders, to complement our portfolio. 

For example, we will launch a direct radiology detector for long images, which is a radiological tablet that allows full body images. There are many studies that require a complete image of the body but this process is often done in a sectional manner so image precision is lost. Taking a single image will facilitate diagnosis. Our launches will offer many applications to all market segments.

Carestream is a global provider of digital X-ray products and X-ray film for the medical and non-destructive testing market. It also offers product, technical and service support and software management services.