Your Guide to Medical Imaging Equipment

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.

A reliable R/F room is a mainstay for any hospital's fluoroscopy equipment stable. Whether it's catching overflow for the rad room or swallow studies for the resident speech pathologist, an R/F room that's well-maintained and performing its best is a valuable asset; but, of course, maintenance and performance aren't free. 

To help you know what you can expect to pay each year for service coverage through an independent service organization (ISO), we've compiled current average rates for a year of our most inclusive Full Service Coverage plan as well as a short list of factors that will play into determining your individual price.

A reliable mammography system is an imaging facility's first, and best tool for breast cancer detection. This is precisely why it's important to have a plan for regular preventative maintenance and for repairs when unexpected equipment problems arise. With a plan in place, your facility can minimize equipment downtime, avoid lost reimbursements, and save money on the cost of replacement parts.

To help you build your expectations of what it might cost to cover your equipment maintenance through an independent service organization (ISO), we've pulled together current price averages for one year of our most inclusive Full Service Coverage plan as well as broken down a few of the key factors that will be a part of determining your individual price.

In a lot of ways, the X-ray machine is the cornerstone of the medical imaging field. From hospitals, to clinics, to in-home care, X-ray systems are the most widely used modality of them all. This is precisely why it's so important to have a plan in place to keep your X-ray system up and running.

To help you know what you can expect to pay annually for an X-ray service agreement through an independent service organization (ISO), we've compiled current average rates for a year of our most inclusive Full Service Coverage plan as well as a short list of factors that will play into determining your individual price.

If you provide DEXA service to patients, eventually, you'll need someone to provide service for your DEXA equipment. Preventative maintenance, repairs, replacement parts- all of these will be necessary at one time or another, but how much can you expect to pay for that kind of coverage? We can help you get an idea.

The team at Block Imaging spent 2015 creating content about all kinds of imaging equipment. On top of that, we had a few things to say about keeping all those systems up and running. To share a few highlights with you, we've brought all the best articles created by our Service Team together in one place for easy reference. Whether you're looking for service options, replacement parts, or a more specific troubleshooting guide, there's sure to be something helpful in the list below.

An important piece of research for any imaging equipment project is finding your options for service and building a budget forecast for your system's ongoing upkeep. As the title of this article suggests, we'll be focusing on the latter. Before we get into the dollars and cents of the matter, we'll walk you through all the factors that might play a hand in determining the actual amount a prospective service provider will quote you. Knowing more about these will help you manage your expectations as well as simplify your conversations with providers.

Whether you've made your pick or are still shopping for the best cath/angio system, to keep it running at maximum uptime, you'll need to get yourself a service agreement. But how much should you expect to pay for that agreement? We want to help you budget for service with some average pricing numbers you’re likely to find as you shop around (see the table at the end). Before we share those numbers though, we want to explain some of the factors that will affect the price your service provider quotes you. The more you know about these details, the more accurate your expectations and your budget will be.

Whether you're a veteran, a rookie, or still shopping for the best system, if you plan to use a C-arm, another thing you have to plan for is how you're going to keep it up and running as consistently as possible. For maximum uptime, you'll need to arrange a service agreement. But how much should you expect to spend for that agreement? We're here to help you build a realistic budget by revealing some average numbers you’re likely to find as you shop around (see the table at the end).