Your Guide to Medical Imaging Equipment

 “My OEC C-arm was quite an investment, so I treat it with kid gloves. With the care I take, it’ll never break down!” Yeah; and in a perfect world there’d be no taxes and dirty diapers would smell like roses.

It’s a hard fact that, until science can provide mankind with indestructible materials, equipment problems are an unfortunate eventuality. While the scientists get cracking on that one, we at Block Imaging thought we’d give you the next best thing: four of the most highly-reported OEC 9800 and 9900 C-arm maintenance problems and ways that you can help fix or prevent them.

Each season, Block Imaging extends an award to a distinctive company or product in a given space. Today, that space is outstanding value among full-size C-arm systems and the product is GE's OEC 9800.

Cars, houses, heck- your children! It seems that all of life's major investments entail costs long after we acquire them. From your imaging facility's business perspective, the equipment investment in an OEC 9900 C-arm is certainly no exception. While its functionality and image quality make it one of the top fluoroscopy tools available to serve patients, ownership of a C-arm comes with necessary long-term costs that should be a part of your C-arm purchasing considerations.

To help you weigh these needs along with your purchase price, we've compiled average costs for three tiers of OEC 9900 service and parts through Block Imaging. Read on to build a general understanding of what it can cost to maintain and protect your C-arm investment.

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 price ranges you’re likely to find as you shop around for C-arm service coverage (see the table at the end).

Before we get to the numbers, we want to explain what is considered when service contract quotes are being built. This is important because what you will actually pay for service depends on these factors. 

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As we continue into the twentieth year since the OEC 9800 C-arm was brought to market, many folks are beginning to ask if the model might be nearing end of life status and how long we believe support for it will continue. When these questions come up, we maintain a position of confidence in support, parts and service, and technology for the 9800 for years to come. The following are a few of the reasons why.