mRay as Part of the Digitalization Strategy at medbo Hospitals

Last November, at the DGNR neuroradiology congress in Salzburg, the idea comes up to visit one of our very first mRay customers. In the department led by Prof. Dr. Christina Wendl and Prof. Dr. Isabel Wiesinger at medbo's Bezirksklinikum Regensburg , our app has been in use for years — not just for mobile Viewing , but also, in some refreshingly creative ways, for patient admissions at the clinic. If it were up to us, more clinics would follow their example. But more on that later.

The timing of our visit isn't entirely coincidental: it falls right in the run-up to the holiday season. We'd heard the Christmas market on the banks of the Donau is worth seeing. "We" means our CEO Michael Müller and our Head of Marketing Daniel Thomas, who travel there separately and — despite Deutsche Bahn living up to its reputation for delays — both make it to our meeting point at a hotel in Regensburg's picturesque old town as planned.

That things would get trickier from here wasn't part of the plan. "Let's take the bus, not a taxi," we decide, feeling unusually budget-conscious. We pick the right bus line — just the wrong direction. So, on the other side of town, we end up hailing a taxi after all, arriving at medbo with a fair bit of delay and not quite at the right entrance.

Patient Workflow in Real Time

Prof. Dr. Wiesinger greets us and takes our mishap — and the resulting delay — in stride. As it turns out, the neuroradiologist and deputy head of the department isn't off duty yet after all: the emergency services have just called in an incoming case. It couldn't have been planned, but for us it's a rare chance to witness the entire patient workflow unfold in real time.

While Dr. Wiesinger shows us around her workspace and we're still making small talk, her colleagues behind the glass are already preparing the CT scanner for the incoming patient. At the same moment, her phone lights up — a push notification from our mRay-AppThrough the app's data-protection-compliant messaging feature, she's just received the patient's medical history form as a PDF. As far as we know, no other hospital handles this quite this way, even though it seems like an obvious solution. We think it's smart, and we're adding it to our list of best-practice tips for our existing customers.  

Shortly after, the patient is in the CT scanner. We watch as the first slices of the brain scan appear on the screen. Fortunately for the patient, the scan shows no signs of trauma from the fall. Using mRay, Dr. Wiesinger writes up a quick report so the clinical team in neurology is immediately in the loop.  

No Time Lost

We try to stay tactfully out of the way in a corner so as not to disrupt this delicate situation — and while our presence doesn't go unnoticed, it doesn't throw anyone off their professional routine either. What stands out most is how well thought-out medbo's digital strategy is, with mRay playing just one small part in the bigger picture.

Once the patient is taken care of, it's finally time for the neuroradiologist to actually clock out. Together with Prof. Wiesinger and Antonio Schuller, the IT specialist for neuroradiology, we head — as promised — to the Christmas market in the hospital garden, right by the Stone Bridge. What looks like a relaxed evening among food stalls and string lights is suddenly interrupted — by our app. Another push notification. This time, a new dataset for a patient who's just been admitted.

Right there on the spot, Dr. Wiesinger opens the new case in the mRay viewer, scrolls confidently through the slices, and checks for anything unusual. Using the built-in chat feature, she sends her assessment back to the team — without losing a moment. We may not have much to contribute to the situation ourselves, but it's still a proud moment for us, seeing the full strength of the mRay app show itself so clearly.

We chat a while longer and later wrap up the evening at a bar. The next morning, full of impressions, we head back to Heidelberg — at least this time, in the right direction from the start.