Sensible Solutions for Refurbished Radiology

All medical imaging systems are created equal, right?

Wrong.  

As any radiologist, rad tech or medical equipment purchasing agent knows, different manufacturers have different strengths. Some may offer better purchase prices, while others have a stronger warranty or lower service costs.

Inside every CT system is an X-ray tube. How long that tube will last depends on many factors. With careful, calculated use from an x-ray technologist or radiologic technologist, the average X-ray tube should provide many years of service. There are however many factors that can shorten the life of an X-ray tube substantially and those factors can typically be controlled by the X-ray tech. So, what can you do to extend and maximize the life of your X-ray tube?

Delivering Better Outcomes By Using Quantitative Imaging Analytics

We are now living in a digital age. It’s an era of decisions and outcomes driven by data and analytics. This insight into the numbers and trends that influence everything we do has become a critical success factor in every industry around the world. For professionals working in the world of healthcare, it has become an invaluable tool for helping not just individual patients but entire populations live healthier lives and reach positive outcomes. Big data has also become a catalyst for improving workflow and the very procedures that are essential to the entire healthcare industry.

Handheld devices like smartphones and tablets are almost commonplace in examination rooms worldwide. But are they being used for applications they shouldn’t be?

It’s an exciting time in healthcare, as it seems like every day there’s new technology that improves diagnosis, treatment or recovery. We’re especially excited to read about a new 3D imaging technique developed by researchers from Cambridge University in the UK. It’s destined to provide enormous improvements for evaluating changes in joint disease. And it couldn’t come at a better time, as Baby Boomers face the ultimate badge of aging—sore and creaky joints.

The Beginning of XR-29

In April of 2014 the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) was formally signed into law. The legislation had many implications for imaging providers. One of the most noteworthy additions – requirements that focused on a health care providers ability to comply with the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) XR-29 Standard Attributes on CT Equipment Related to Dose Optimization and Management, also known as MITA Smart Dose.

It’s no secret that healthcare in America is changing rapidly. And one of the innovations in medical imaging today is portable X-ray services.

In the constantly evolving world of healthcare and medical imaging, what’s new today could be in need of an upgrade tomorrow. It’s a challenge many hospitals and radiology offices face as they attempt to keep up with advancing technology. It’s also a primary consideration when hospitals and clinics decide to replace or update their existing equipment. When budgets are tight, many administrators must carefully decide whether the current equipment is negatively affecting patient outcomes or preventing the staff from making accurate diagnoses. It is a far too common assessment that can lead to older pieces of equipment remaining in use because they meet the minimum requirements.

Custom designed arms and legs being created on demand. Living tissue is carefully layered and molded to create a new nose or ear. Using the data from an ultrasound to model the face of baby while it’s still in the womb. To many these ideas sound like they’re stories straight out of a science fiction movie. In reality these are inventions that happened years ago. What’s happening now is even more exciting. Everything mentioned in this paragraph is possible today because of 3D printing.

For anyone who’s ever used or benefitted from the use of an MRI, we need to tip our hats to the experts at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. After all, that’s where the first clinical Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine was built and used to scan a human 35 years ago. And now it looks like the experts at the university are developing a new method of MRI which will provide significantly more detailed information about osteoarthritis, cancer, dementia and other diseases.