Sensible Solutions for Refurbished Radiology

Once a niche hobby for tech savvy makers, 3D printing has become big business. Today, additive manufacturing, the technical term for 3D printing, is being used around the world in almost every sector of business. While its uses vary in size and scope, it seems as if almost anything can be created. Enterprising professionals from different fields are using 3D printers to create everything from one-of-a-kind prototypes to hard to find parts, food, and even living tissue.

Finally, there’s a CT Scanner that performs scans on pediatric patients without the need for sedation!  What a relief for parents, children, physicians and technicians, alike.  Siemens has launched the new SOMATOM Dual Source CT Scanner and it’s been approved by the FDA. 

Are changes coming that will affect the sale and service of medical equipment and medical imaging equipment like MRI and CT scanners? Unfortunately there is no clear answer right now. What is known is that this October the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will hold a public workshop focused on the ““Refurbishing, Reconditioning, Rebuilding, Remarketing, Remanufacturing, and Servicing of Medical Devices Performed by Third-Party Entities and Original Equipment Manufacturers.”

As healthcare facilities continue to try to find ways to cut costs and maintain high quality service, more and more are purchasing used and refurbished medical imaging devices.  And more and more of them are looking at used and refurbished ultrasound equipment, versus MRI and nuclear imaging devices. That’s no surprise, since ultrasound is used in more than 900 million exams each year, including uses in obstetrics, cardiology, oncology, orthopedics, neurology, gynecology and more. Ultrasound technology is also less expensive, as a rule, and doesn’t require ionizing radiation.  It’s also not invasive, which makes it more popular.

So you’re in the market for a refurbished or used CT Scanner, and you’re partial to Siemens. But you don’t know which one is exactly right for your practice, clinic or healthcare facility. 

By combining two distinct imaging systems, PET-CT has become one of the most effective imaging procedures available today. PET-CT is an advanced nuclear imaging technique that combines molecular imaging known as Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Computer Tomography (CT) into one highly sophisticated process.

So it’s time to purchase a Digital Rad Room for your practice, hospital or clinic.  And you’re looking at a used or refurbished solution.  Good for you!  But before you whip out that checkbook, there are a few important considerations and questions to ask.  After all, you want to make sure you’re getting exactly what you want and need.

We’ve all heard the nightmare stories on the news.  A patient goes into surgery to have his or her left knee replacement surgery and instead, the right knee gets replaced.  Or a patient has a punctured left lung, but the surgeon mistakenly inserted a chest tube on the right side instead.  So how does this happen?

As some people continue to gain weight, manufacturers’ of MRI equipment have been producing scanners to accommodate larger sized patients. Also patients that are claustrophic or just uncomfortable find that the Open MRI is a better option.  Hence the need for more facilities to have the Open MRI Scanner.

Here’s a shocker.  The average price that healthcare providers paid for CT scanners in a three-month period in 2016 compared to the same time period in 2015 went up 34%.