Sensible Solutions for Refurbished Radiology

Let me set the table. You’re improving your radiology capabilities and one thing has become abundantly clear; you need a C-Arm. Whether you’re building a new facility, buying a C-Arm for the first time, or you’re ready to upgrade to a newer/better model – it’s going to take a lot of work and research to make this purchase happen.

Magnetic resonance imaging uses magnetic fields and radio waves to form images of the body. These images can be used to diagnose a wide variety of health conditions, making reading these images a critical part of a radiologist’s training. Sometimes, structures appear in the MRI imaging that is not anatomically present. These artifacts can mimic pathologies, leading to improper diagnoses. Learning to recognized common artifacts and how to avoid them improves the diagnostic properties of MRI.

Radiology equipment is some of the most expensive investments a practice, clinic, hospital or healthcare facility can make. It’s expensive to purchase and install—and then there’s the required preventative maintenance, on top of that. Of course, preventative maintenance is designed to prevent the need of costly breakdowns that can affect your revenue flow.  Now, there’s also a call by the World Health Organization for additional policies and approaches for decontamination of radiology equipment, and the protection of radiology personnel.

If you already have an MRI in your facility and you were there when it was installed, you know how much work went into building that MRI suite. Now that’s it’s up and working, you want to make sure it stays that way, right? The good news is, there are ways to avoid or prevent the unexpected from happening, thanks to MRI preventative maintenance.

This article was first published on DotMed-Healthcare Business on April 21, 2015 then on the Medic Vision site in May by Eyal Aharon.

Orlando is the home of Disney, Epcot, Universal Studios –and the perfect location for last week’s ASCA Conference! The Marriott Orlando World Center was a great place to stay again. The convention center was conveniently located there at the hotel, which had multiple different pathways, pools and gathering areas which made it easy to get around. If you were in the mood to rise before 6am on Friday there was also the 5k to run or walk the golf course trail.

C-Arms have been around for more than 30 years, and people often view it as a “Coke and Pepsi” market: dominated by OEC C-Arms and Philips C-Arms.  Okay, and maybe Siemens C-Arms, too. But there is another fairly big player that’s often overlooked: Ziehm C-Arms. I like to think of them as the RC Cola of the C-Arm market. They've been around just as long as the big guys (1983) and the quality of their C-Arms is actually on par, as well.  (We all know RC Cola is just as good as Coke and Pepsi!) However, for some reason the Ziehm name does not carry the same appeal or recognition as OEC, Philips or Siemens. 

Are you thinking about replacing your CT Scanner in order to meet increased demand? Are you considering the addition of a new CT Scanner to offer a different imaging modality to your practice?  Before you make a final decision, one of the most important considerations is the number of data slices you need—or think you need.

We were reminded this week, unfortunately, that MRIs are not just for people any more. One of our co-workers has a beautiful six-year-old brindle bullmastiff that began having seizures—and not just one now and then, but multiple times a day.  A trip to the neurologist resulted in an order for a brain MRI. Unfortunately, the diagnosis was not good—a brain tumor that was large and inoperable.  While our friend is heartbroken, she’s also relieved that she knows exactly what’s wrong, what to expect, and roughly how much time she has left with Poudre.

So you need a C-Arm. There are countless options out there and it’s an important decision you don’t want to mess up. You do your research, you take a look at your practice and the procedures you perform and you pinpoint the C-Arm that works best for you. You decide that a refurbished C-Arm will provide the performance (and price!) you need, so you call the dealer, ready to buy. Then that knowledgeable salesman asks you what kind of C-Arm table you want. What?