Your Guide to Medical Imaging Equipment

Not long ago most types of imaging equipment were reserved for humans. If a scan was to be performed on a family pet, an X-ray was about as far as most veterinarians would go. Now, with an increasing number of animal owners willing to spend whatever it takes to get their pets the best care, more and more vet facilities have integrated full-on radiology departments into their practice.

We recently partnered with a vet center on a cath lab installation, which turned out to be just one in a full stable of systems running in their facility. Ultrasound, X-ray, C-arm, CT, MRI, nuclear camera, and even a linear accelerator, are all installed and scanning patients on a regular basis.

With interest like this on the rise, "What's the best cath lab for veterinary use?" has become a regular question for our team. In the next few paragraphs, we'll share our take on the question and give you a few considerations to keep in mind as you shop for your veterinary cath lab system.

When folks contact us to begin their inquiries into equipment for catheterization or angiography work, generally, the first question they ask is: "How much does digital cath lab equipment cost?" 

It's a big question, with some big variables at play but, to help those of you on the market begin to build some budget expectations, our cath lab experts have compiled current average pricing for five of the most popular digital cath lab models on the secondary market.

Have a model in mind? Click here to get a custom quote for your specific project.

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.