Your Guide to Medical Imaging Equipment

As a potential PET/CT system buyer, perhaps you’ve been here: the head of radiology insists that a new 256-slice PET/CT is the technology you need, while the CFO is leaning toward keeping the “old faithful” 2 or 4-slice from 2001. Okay, maybe this is a slight exaggeration, but it does illustrate the core dilemma: Which PET/CT offers the best value, balancing purchase price and ongoing costs with function and image quality?

Unfortunately, this is not a question with a one-size-fits-all answer. Not every facility has the same patient volume, the same specialty, or the same budgetary flexibility. Depending on your intended/predicted usage, the following are several refurbished PET/CT scanners we've found that strike the balance between cost and function well for the majority of applications and specialties in the field.

Like any other piece of medical imaging equipment in your facility, you rely on your PET/CT scanner to serve the diagnostic needs of your patients. And just like any other piece of medical imaging equipment, your PET/CT is going to need periodic maintenance and repair to make sure it stays in service as much as possible. We'll be frank: quality service coverage isn't cheap, but there are ways to save on your service purchase- namely, working with an independent service organization (ISO).

Being an imaging equipment ISO ourselves, we've compiled below current average price ranges for one year of full PET/CT service coverage versus typical OEM costs. Individual pricing will vary based on the make, model, and age of your system as well as the service options you choose, but these figures will give you a place to start planning. See more about the types of coverage we offer here.

It's a question our team addresses several times every week: "How much does a PET/CT scanner cost?"  Well, the answer depends on a number of factors, and is seldom exactly the same from site-to-site, but we've compiled the ranges of current average pricing to help guide your search.

There is one cost factor that is more telling than any other: slice count. The more slices the CT portion of the machine can capture, the more you'll pay for it. Watch the video or read the list below to see 2020 cost information for PET/CT scanners across the full range of slice counts. 

Looking for a custom PET/CT or PET scanner cost quote? Click here to tell us about your project.

From where to have lunch to when to retire, life is filled with decisions that require careful consideration. Not the least of these is how to protect your CT, MRI, X-ray, or other medical imaging equipment with service and maintenance coverage.

No two imaging facilities are exactly alike, and that's why there is some flexibility among the plans you'll find on the service market. To help reduce your legwork as you enter the service market, we'll cover here three common imaging equipment service plans offered by service providers.

Recently, a proposal through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recommended a change to the 2020 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) that would reduce reimbursement for cardiac PET scan procedures by 80%. While the proposed change doesn't prevent anyone from continuing to offer cardiac PET services, it does drop reimbursement to a level well below what's needed to maintain a viable cardiac imaging service, a move that will force many providers out of the market and eliminate access to service for the majority of patients.

This news raises several questions. What is CMS thinking with this proposal? What will patients do if the proposal is accepted? And what can be done about it? We'll answer these questions below to shed more light on the situation and what's to be done as CMS administrators make their deliberations.