Sensible Solutions for Refurbished Radiology

We’ve come a long way, baby, especially when it comes to medical imaging.  But before we get to the latest and greatest in MRIs and CT Scans, let’s time travel, shall we?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In hospitals and clinics around the world Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is relied on to provide an unmatched level of image quality. The MRI is used to view and diagnose complex injuries and diseases within the human body and plays a vital role in treatment of patients the world over. Its importance to the future of medicine is paramount, and while its usefulness is without question, the MRI scanner does have its drawbacks.