By all accounts, molecular imaging equipment is a very costly investment. Here are some tips from Stephan Anderson, CEO of Heritage Radiology, LLC; Bill Biddle, COO of BC Technical; Don Bogutski, CEO of Diagnostix Plus; Chuck Bird, director of Numed, Inc.; and Ruud Simons, director of Medi- Trade, to keep you from adding unnecessary expense and headache to your purchase.

• Something borrowed, something new. Ask yourself if you need to buy the latest and greatest device when a device that’s eight to 10 years old will do. Nuclear medical technology hasn’t changed drastically over the years — don’t buy more than what you need, especially when reimbursements are at a low.



• Onsite or out-of-sight? Confirm what you are buying is actually on site. This includes both hardware and software.



• Chalk it up to experience. Make sure the company providing the de-install knows what they are doing and have the correct shipping dollies. If you hire someone with no experience, you run the risk of having to pay for repairs to a machine that was previously ready to roll.



• Treat it like a dealership. When buying equipment, take the time to really scrutinize the supplier. What are their quality standards? Are they going to stand behind the product? What’s their warranty? Make sure to get all past service records to ensure the equipment won’t have significant issues that may be a problem in the long run.



• Keep it clean. Clean the dust out of the fan filters, make sure they’re clear of debris, and make sure there’s plenty of room around the system to provide good air flow. Make sure the room is not too hot or you run the risk of overheating the system.



• TMI. Clean up and archive the databases periodically — if too much information accumulates on the hard drive, it will fail.



• Invest in a UPS. Maintain clean and stable power to the PET/CT through the use of a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) to ensure a long life for system components. This also eliminates a common source of software and patient data corruption. Installing and maintaining a UPS results in lower operating costs as well as less downtime for the PET/CT system.