Philips Pulsera C-arms: Three Generations Compared

This might sound strange, but for me, the Philips Pulsera C-arm bears an existential significance. Read on, and bear witness to my journey.

Yesterday

I think it’s high time we humans were taken down a peg! We strut around, talking about being “forward-thinking,” “synergistic,” and “efficient,” when, in fact, we’re one of the slowest species on Earth!

For all our brain power and philosophizing, it still takes us eighteen years (if we're lucky) to even learn how to talk to the opposite sex, nine months to grow our offspring in the womb, and an average of twelve to eighteen hours bearing them in the delivery room. By the time we’ve brought on a single generation, most of Earth’s other species will have procreated dozens, if not hundreds, of times.

To our credit though, when we lag behind biologically, we offer compensatory gestures technologically. The humans at Philips, for example, brought about three generations of their popular Pulsera c-arms in only five years, and each has been more feature-rich than the last.

The Vitals

Here’s the rundown on the evolution of the Philips Pulsera C-arm over the fruitful 1.1 decades since the line's inception.

1st Generation	2nd Generation

3rd Generation

In addition to improvements on the features compared above, the 3rd generation 2.3 and 2.8 Pulseras sport a few other noteworthy features like:

Today

With the exception of the unfortunate custard-like yellow accent color on the knobs and handles, which seems to stick to the Pulsera line like... well... custard, Philips has managed not only to cultivate reproduction in their c-arms but also adaptation into an increasingly user-friendly fluoroscopy unit.

Philips Pulsera c-arms certainly don't have the market penetration of the competing OEC c-arm breeds, but their quick technological adaptation (surpassing higher-selling competitors in some cases) and more affordable pricing has kept them viable and well worth considering if one is in the market for a used or refurbished c-arm.

As far as compensating for humanity's reproductive tarrying, Philips has made good with a steady stream of quality c-arm technology. In recognition of their good work, I might need to rescind my opening statements in part and keep in mind the principle of "quality over quantity".