Your Guide to Medical Imaging Equipment

If you're reading this blog post, you already know 3 things:

1. You need to upgrade your facility's equipment

2. You can accomplish this much more affordably with a refurbished CT scanner

3. One of the systems that can best meet your CT needs is a Siemens Sensation 64-slice

Not long ago, MRI users saw a shortage in the liquid helium supply that lasted several years. This was followed, until recently, by a period of recovery as government stockpiles were opened and a portion of that stored helium was released onto the market. Now, however, there is a sort of "shortage 2.0" in effect. To help all you MRI users better understand the scenario this time around, we'll share some details about the current shortage and what you can expect from it.

From an imaging chain standpoint, the Orthoscan MDI and the Orthoscan FD mini C-arms have a lot in common: kV range, mA range, detector resolution, pixel spacing. They also have a fair amount of overlap in terms of applications: podiatry, orthopedics, sports medicine. In spite of all this common ground, however, there are some big differences between these two systems that are worth noting if you're considering an Orthoscan for your next mini C-arm acquisition. Below, we'll compare the Orthoscan MDI and the Orthoscan FD side-by-side to demonstrate their separate strengths.

Due to an announcement from Carestream in late 2018 of their discontinuance of service for the Fischer/Siemens MammoTest stereotactic table, we've been fielding requests from an increasing amount of Mammotest users and renters concerned about ongoing service and support. If your facility is among those likely to be affected, there are several thoughts that may be going through your head: "Can we find another service provider? Do we need to consider another used/refurbished table option (i.e. Hologic Multicare)? Can we justify the purchase of a new Hologic Affirm 3D Prone Biopsy Table for 300k+?"

We want to let you know that there are several ways Block Imaging can help alleviate the issue. Keep reading to see several capabilities you can take advantage of to continue offering breast biopsy procedures in your area.

If your facility hasn't upgraded its X-ray capabilities in the last five years or more, we can't overstate our recommendation to upgrade to a DR panel ASAP. Many people we talk to have been scanning with burdensome reimbursement cuts for two years (at 20% for film processor users) or one year (at 7% for CR reader users) but are still concerned that upgrading to a flat DR panel detector is cost-prohibitive for their budget and patient volume level. These concerns loom large when you compare the up-front price of a CR reader to the price of a DR panel, but begin to fade if you consider the cost of ownership over a few short years from the point of purchase. To help clarify, we'll share the numbers and tech factors that show why we think any digital X-ray upgrade should be an upgrade to a DR panel.