BridgeWave Communications has announced that Medical X-Ray Center, a state-of-the-art radiology center serving hospitals and clinics throughout South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa, has deployed both BridgeWave AR60 and AR80 gigabit wireless links to extend high-speed network connectivity to remote sites while ensuring seamless, secure access to an all-digital Picture Archiving Communications System (PACS) and customized patient treatment plans.

As Medical X-Ray Center's array of services increased and number of patients continued to rise, the existing 100 Mbps Ethernet link between the facilities became overburdened, slowing the transfer of vital, bandwidth-intensive x-ray, CT, MRI and ultrasound images. Additionally, the insufficient 5.8 GHz wireless solution soon experienced reliability problems, failing 50% of the time.

In seeking a replacement for its aging wireless bridge, Medical X-Ray Center determined that at least 700 Mbps of high-speed bandwidth would be needed to accommodate its burgeoning radiology practice and ever-increasing file sizes. Compliance with federal HIPAA regulations demanded a connectivity option with the highest levels of security.

BridgeWave's 60 GHz and 80 GHz E-Band links offer 10 times the bandwidth of comparably priced 100 Mbps Ethernet wireless links. In addition, the BridgeWave products provide interference immunity and enhanced data security resulting from extremely narrow antenna beam widths. Increasingly, organizations in the healthcare industry are embracing high-capacity, secure wireless solutions over traditional leased-line alternatives such as T1 or fiber-optic based services.