MUSC Health and Siemens Healthineers partner in transformative remote scanning MRI service

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Oct. 26,2022) - The Medical University of South Carolina health system (MUSC Health) and Siemens Healthineers have taken another step in their strategic partnership to advance the quality of health care in South Carolina. Effective immediately, MUSC will begin the statewide implementation of Siemens Healthineers’ syngo Virtual Cockpit remote scanning assistance software. The syngo Virtual Cockpit is a software solution designed to assist scan procedures for patients from a distance, eliminating the need to travel greater lengths for health care. MUSC Health will be the first in the state to introduce this new technology.

“With syngo Virtual Cockpit, MUSC is addressing a primary challenge for many health care institutions: providing equal access to quality imaging services in remote and decentralized locations, using technology that also helps to solve for staffing challenges and improve the patient experience,” said David Pacitti, president of Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc. and head of the Americas, Siemens Healthineers. “This is an important step in the value partnership between our organizations and the vision we share for improving health care equity for all patients.”

Using the syngo Virtual Cockpit will allow patients improved access to care and the ability to have MRI scans performed in areas closer to home or work, eliminating the need to travel to a location with a technologist on-site. Patients will be able to have access to virtual cockpits at multiple locations across the state, with a technologist stationed in Charleston to perform the scans from afar in real time. This saves outpatients the time and cost of traveling for an MRI exam. The MUSC Health-Midlands Division will be the first area in the state to implement the innovative system.

“Our goal in our partnership with the Siemens Healthineers team has always been to address fractured and inefficient health care delivery systems. By leveraging this incredible technology across the enterprise, we are ensuring the highest-quality care for our patients while staying on the forefront of imaging advances as the leading academic health sciences center in the state,” said Patrick J. Cawley, M.D., MUSC Health CEO and MUSC executive vice president for Health Affairs, University. “This will allow us to launch advanced cardiac MRI services at campuses that have never been able to perform those studies before as well as reduce patient transfers."

Furthermore, the software will support training for MRI technicians in teaching them how to perform cardiac MRIs and improving imaging quality. By changing working flow, technicians will be able to optimize protocols or perform system changes, and more time can be spent focusing on the needs of their teams and their patients, not travel.

###

About MUSC

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is the state’s only comprehensive academic health system, with a unique mission to preserve and optimize human life in South Carolina through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates more than 3,000 students in six colleges – Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy – and trains more than 850 residents and fellows in its health system. MUSC brought in more than $327.6 million in research funds in fiscal year 2021, leading the state overall in research funding. MUSC also leads the state in federal and National Institutes of Health funding, with more than $220 million. For information on academic programs, visit musc.edu.

As the health care system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest quality and safest patient care while educating and training generations of outstanding health care providers and leaders to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. Patient care is provided at 14 hospitals with approximately 2,500 beds and five additional hospital locations in development, more than 350 telehealth sites and connectivity to patients’ homes, and nearly 750 care locations situated in all regions of South Carolina. In 2022, for the eighth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit muschealth.org.

MUSC and its affiliates have collective annual budgets of $5.1 billion. The nearly 25,000 MUSC team members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers, scientists, students, affiliates and care team members who deliver groundbreaking education, research, and patient care.

About Siemens Healthineers 

Siemens Healthineers AG (listed in Frankfurt, Germany: SHL) pioneers breakthroughs in healthcare. For everyone. Everywhere. As a leading medical technology company headquartered in Erlangen, Germany, Siemens Healthineers and its regional companies is continuously developing its product and service portfolio, with AI-supported applications and digital offerings that play an increasingly important role in the next generation of medical technology. These new applications will enhance the company’s foundation in in-vitro diagnostics, image-guided therapy, in-vivo diagnostics, and innovative cancer care. Siemens Healthineers also provides a range of services and solutions to enhance healthcare providers’ ability to provide high-quality, efficient care. In fiscal 2021, which ended on September 30, 2021, Siemens Healthineers, which has approximately 66,000 employees worldwide, generated revenue of €18.0 billion and adjusted EBIT of €3.1 billion. Further information is available at www.siemens-healthineers.com.