Your Guide to Medical Imaging Equipment

As with all imaging equipment, your MRI will eventually need to be upgraded or replaced to keep pace with new healthcare demands. If you've been in the field for a while, you're probably well aware of this and may have even been at your facility when the current MRI scanner was installed. If so, you're probably also well aware of the potential need for some extensive renovations.

Undergoing renovations is never fun, but not being able to serve patients or generate revenue is even less fun. So, what's done during construction?  Go mobile!

Ready to look into mobile MRI rental now? Click here to submit a request!

GE is nothing if not consistent when it comes to naming conventions. First it was Hispeeds and Lightspeeds, then Discoveries, and now: Optimas. There are Optima X-ray rooms, Optima MRI scanners, and Optima CTs. I'm not even sure what else, but my kitchen is due for an upgrade and an Optima refrigerator sounds pretty cutting edge. Other Optima modalities aside though, this article is intended to clarify the various types of Optima CT.

Below, we'll share a brief overview of the four members of the GE Optima CT scanner family, including slice count, tube type, ASIR availability, and special features.

Maybe you haven't been in the field long enough to see one of your systems be declared "end of life". Maybe in the past, your budget afforded you the opportunity to upgrade long before end of life was even a concern. Whatever the case, if your facility has been using a Siemens Symphony MRI, you now know that Siemens has declared those three dreaded words for your scanner.

We'll concede that the phrase "end of life" (EOL) has an awfully conclusive tone to it, and that having a system declared EOL can lead to some big changes for a site- however, EOL designation doesn't mean that your Symphony needs to go out the door any time soon, and it doesn't mean that you have to bust your budget on an urgent upgrade.

With the Siemens Symphony MRI as our example, let us give you the scoop on why OEMs use EOL designations, why EOL isn't as urgent as it seems, and how an EOL designation can actually be a good thing for your operating budget.

You’ve bought an expensive, top of the line wireless DR panel (digital radiography). It’s only been out of the box for two days when your lead tech, who is used to working with inexpensive CR plates, drops it. Do you have DR panel drop coverage?

Okay, so the paragraph above is scary, right? Almost scary enough to second-guess an upgrade or certainly purchase insurance coverage. Costly object X is entered into catastrophic situation Y and a hypothetical lack of coverage leads to budget-crushing dollar amount Z in damages. The story may be hackneyed but, at its core, it relays the reason why any of us buy coverage for anything: in case of XYZ.

If you're on the road to DR panel ownership, drop coverage should at least be part of the conversation with your provider. Keep reading and we'll share more details you can use as you approach the subject of DR panel drop coverage.

Want even more protection for your DR panel? Click here to learn about protective DR panel carrying cases.

When you hit the market for a used DEXA scanner, it won't take you too long to find that facilities listing their own units for sale sometimes offer them for significantly lower prices than third-party resellers. At first glance, this can seem like a compelling selling point- one that might have you leaning toward a private lister. With a closer look, however, the reasons for the price disparity become clear, as does the overall added value of working with a third-party reseller.

In the video below, we'll guide you through what you typically get when you purchase a DEXA scanner from a private listing compared to what you typically get when you purchase from a third-party reseller.

When your hospital decides it's time to upgrade that 64-slice CT to the latest and greatest 256-slice CT, before you trade in, take a minute to think about all the ways the 64-slice could be utilized within your healthcare system. More and more healthcare systems are discovering opportunities to keep systems they may have previously traded in and deploy them in outpatient or rural hospital settings.  

If you represent a hospital ready to relocate a piece of imaging equipment, here are some tips that will save you time, money, and stress:

Has your OEM thrown around the term “end of life” as they refer to your oldie-but-a-goodie MRI system?  We’ve had recent conversations in which customers have told us that the MRI systems they rely on day-to-day have been coined “end of life” by the OEM. They've asked exactly what this might mean for them and the equipment in their facilities. What’s all this about?

To help clarify things and, hopefully, alleviate some worry for any of you experiencing this same situation, we'll break down below what an MRI machine manufacturer typically means when they say a system has reached "end of life" status.

Already considering an MRI machine upgrade? Click here to see current inventory.

When you buy a medical imaging system the old maxim, "You get what you pay for," is true in a number of ways- especially when it comes to project management. Many times an imaging system can be purchased used from a broker or as-is from another site for less than it costs to purchase it from a refurbisher/ turnkey provider like Block Imaging. However, in many of these cases, once you've sealed the deal on your purchase, much of the process of getting the system to your facility and ready to scan patients is left in your hands.

An equipment provider with full project management capabilities can facilitate so much more than a transaction that transfers ownership. As an example, we'll share with you below what the cost difference pays for when you purchase a refurbished medical imaging system from Block Imaging.

There still seems to be a lot of confusion over what digital radiography (DR) systems really offer, how they’re beneficial, and how they’re different from computed radiography (CR) or analog systems.

Here are several important facts that every doctor and medical office needs to know about DR systems. Is it time to make the transition to digital radiography?

If you already know you want to upgrade to digital radiography, click here to get a quick quote on a DR panel.