Your Guide to Medical Imaging Equipment

Knowing the typical room dimensions for a Philips cath/angio lab is the first step toward deciding exactly which location you place the system in your new facility. Providing enough space for the equipment to exercise its full range of motion and for doctors and technicians to work is critical for patient care. Below we’ve listed recommended room dimensions for the most popular Philips Allura systems to help as you plan your next cath/angio lab installation.

Proper room dimensions for a GE cath/angio lab continue to be a topic of frequent discussion here in the Block Imaging project management department. We’ve been asked so many times, by so many people, that several of us got the dimensions tattooed on our forearms for quick reference. Later, in a deep fit of tattoo regret, we decided it would have been a better idea to simply post them on our blog- hence, the post you are reading right now. This article has been updated from a previous version to include the most recent room dimension recommendations for GE's cath lab product line, from the bread-and-butter Innova series to the newer IGS models. The only down side? We had to update our tattoos as well (ouch!)

If you are considering the purchase of a GE cath lab, you’ll want to check the size of the room you plan to have it installed in against the OEM recommendations in the table below. These recommendations are guidelines, not firm rules, but they can help you begin to plan for your incoming lab.

When looking to purchase a cath lab for your office-based lab (OBL) facility there are a lot of considerations that come into play, but, first and foremost, is the system you choose to install. This can be one of the largest capital purchases for the facility, so it’s important to choose a system that will not only perform the needed studies, but also fit into your budgetary “sweet spot” to provide the best return on investment possible. With that in mind, how do we determine the best cath lab for your OBL?

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.

Still shopping systems? Browse our cath lab inventory here.

If you're working with a Philips cath/angio lab like the Allura FD10 or FD20, you’re using an MRC 200 X-ray tube. And just like any X-ray tube, the MRC 200 will need to be replaced occasionally. When that time comes for you (and it's likely to come a few times over the course of your lab's life), you’ll find several product descriptions for the type of MRC 200 tubes in circulation. These descriptions include digits and initials that might not make any sense to you at first. Today, we're breaking these descriptions down so you can make your next major component purchase fully-informed.