Sensible Solutions for Refurbished Radiology

66.8% of women above 40 have had a mammogram within the past two years in the U. S. It is said that 1 in 9 women will acquire breast cancer at some point with 1 in 30 dying as a result. According to Atlantis Worldwide, “50% of MRI machines being installed today will have to be replaced within 11 years. In today’s market place, it is estimated that 1 out of 5 MRI systems is older than 10 years.” Because the medical imaging field is always changing such statistics beg the question, is it time to evaluate your mammography equipment?

The Brits made a splash in Boston again, this time with “tool x-CSI,” which has been described as low-dose, high-resolution, non-invasive and specific.  And the Americans are paying attention.

Artificial intelligence (AI) which is the mimicking of human understanding by computers is finally a reality in medicine, more so in imaging equipment application. Combining medical data with AI will change a lot of medical specialists like pathology and radiology. Although there is worry of AI replacing such specialists, in effect, AI is a decision support technology to enhance radiologists’ as well as pathologists’ ability to diagnose correctly. The introduction of electronic medical records (EMR) and centralization of medical data initiated AI into medicine. Its clinical application will include machines for X-ray, CT Scanners, and MRI.

In recent years, some of the advances in MRI technology have been on the software side.  These advancement enable faster contrast scans, simplified cardiac imaging workflows, and even the ability to perform MR scans of the lungs.

It’s no secret that PET and CT imaging systems can take up a lot of real estate.  And that’s usually not a problem for large, high volume medical practices or hospitals.  But what if you have a smaller practice or lower-volume rural hospital?  Square footage can be limited, but the need will still exist for medical imaging.  That’s where a mobile imaging service could be an option.  Here are the three areas to consider when deciding between in-house equipment and the use of a mobile service.

There’s one thing that never changes about Medical Imaging:  it’s always changing.  If you own a clinic, hospital, health care facility it can be challenging to keep up with all the new technology and advancements, much less what it means to your business.    

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.