Sensible Solutions for Refurbished Radiology

In the mission to cure and eliminate cancer, all progress is good progress. Currently, one of the most common treatments for cancer is radiotherapy. Radiotherapy uses high-energy radiation in the form of x-rays to destroy cancerous cells. It can be administered both internally and externally and is often combined with other types of treatments including chemotherapy and surgery.

After figuring out which medical imaging equipment makes the most sense for your practice, clinic, facility or hospital, it’s just as important to consider the size, specifications and logistics surrounding the installation of your new diagnostic equipment. At Atlantis Worldwide, experience has taught us that preplanning saves a lot of heartache.  Case in point, we know of a physician who bought the perfect C-Arm for his practice, only to discover it wouldn’t fit into the room he bought it for!

The National Harbor in the D.C. area had plenty of restaurants, night life, casinos, boats, even a huge movie screen and ferris wheel right by the water. The Gaylord National Harbor Convention Center was a great place to have this years ASCA Conference.  Atlantis enjoyed being able to walk into town at night and the smaller convention center was not hard to get around – for a change we did not get lost!  As always, we were happy to see familiar faces from past ASCA Shows and excited to meet new connections. The show was another great success!

Regardless of the physical geography of your office or facility, there are important reasons not to limit your MRI shopping to your immediate vicinity or even your country. To find the perfect MRI system you won’t necessarily have to travel to the other side of the world, but doing your due diligence and shopping globally could help you locate the perfect machine for your budget and your situation.

You know you need a new piece of medical imaging equipment for your hospital, clinic, practice or healthcare facility. But there are so many considerations before you select the right one. Do you have to renovate your current space in order to accommodate it?  Do you have the budget for it? 

It looks like it’s only a few years away—a portable, wearable PET scan that could be used on the football sidelines (or battlefield or anywhere else) to instantly diagnose whether an injured person has sustained brain damage.  It would be much
easier to use onsite and much less expensive than current technology, which requires a patient to be rushed to the hospital and lie still under a large and heavy PET Scanner.

There are all kinds of cyber crimes, including stock manipulation schemes, intellectual property theft, telecommunications
scam, financial fraud scheme and pharmaceutical fraud.  But there are a growing number of cyber attacks on the healthcare industry. Case in point, last August Banner Health reported a data breach affecting 3.7 million patients and staff at 23 hospitals and specialized facilities. 

Wide Bore MRI

The major difference between a conventional closed bore system and a wide bore system is the size of the patient opening—60cm versus 70cm. This 10cm difference (approx. 4“) is the newest offering from the OEM’s to help differentiate themselves from older and less expensive systems. The wider bore can help ease the claustrophobic aspect of the patient’s MRI experience,

Quick.  What’s the difference between a Wide Bore MRI and an Open MRI?  Or a Closed Bore MRI?  Which is the best for patients who get claustrophobic?  Which is best in a clinical setting?  At Atlantis Worldwide, we created a simple Infographic that explains the differences and benefits of a variety of MRI equipment.  As medical imaging specialists, we also understand that different practices, clinics, hospitals and facilities have different needs and different budgets.  Sometimes only a brand new MRI will do.  Other times, you can actually get more performance for the money by using a used or refurbished MRI. A pre-owned MRI might even fit the specs of your current facility better than a new one. 

At the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Britain, doctors are using the world’s smallest MRI to help premature babies.  It’s one of
two purpose-built neonatal MRI scanners in the world, and is proving to be better at showing the structures of the brain and abnormalities more clearly that ultrasound, which is normally used to scan the brains of newborns.