DOTmed Industry Sector Report: Portable X-rays -- The Workhorses of a Hospital
by Barbara Kram, Editor | May 11, 2007
Portable X-rays play
an indispensable role
in many critical care
settings, such the ER,
and perform about
50% of all X-rays
in a hospital.
an indispensable role
in many critical care
settings, such the ER,
and perform about
50% of all X-rays
in a hospital.
This article is from in the June 2007 issue of DOTmed Business News. A list of registered users that provide sales & service can be found at the end.
Many cliches spring to mind to describe the role of portable X-ray devices in a hospital: You're only as strong as your weakest link. Or, how about: For the want of a nail the kingdom was lost.
These unheralded machines play an indispensable role in many critical care settings such the ER, so it's important to keep them in service at all times. The hospital's biomedical engineering department certainly has a lot of other high-tech priorities, including state-of-the-art technologies. It's easy to overlook the humble portable X-ray machine.
Philips' Practix Convenio portable X-ray
system, one of the many versatile portable
models on the market today.
(Click to enlarge)
"What we found is that the biomedical engineer typically has to take care of all the imaging equipment in the hospital. Although the portable is the tiniest piece of the puzzle that the biomedical engineer works on, it's also the biggest headache if it doesn't work because it's used in the critical situations," said Maggie O'Mahoney, Marketing and Sales Manager, Mobile X-Ray Solutions, Inc., Augusta, Ga. "When the tech goes to take it to the cardiac cath lab or the neonatal intensive care room or the operating room, it has to work."
The company rebuilds, upgrades, sells and rents GE AMX portables and parts and offers technical training and support. (The company is a spin-off of Benco, known for rebuilding the portables for GE.) The GE AMX line is the "Cadillac" portable X-ray units, although Toshiba and Siemens also manufacture the equipment.
"Our aim is to eliminate the down time with those units, eliminate maintenance issues. We have a commitment that we can in almost every case get a portable back up and running in 24 hours," O'Mahoney said.
A 1994 GE AMX-IV portable X-ray unit fully
refurbished by Metropolis International. All worn
out and damaged parts were replaced with original
OEM replacement parts before QA testing.
(Click to enlarge)
Servicing the units entails replacing any worn or defective parts, most notably the tube plus calibration, but also batteries, wires and cables, latches, arm, etc. It can require reassembly of electrical, mechanical and electromechanical components to restore proper operation.
Many cliches spring to mind to describe the role of portable X-ray devices in a hospital: You're only as strong as your weakest link. Or, how about: For the want of a nail the kingdom was lost.
These unheralded machines play an indispensable role in many critical care settings such the ER, so it's important to keep them in service at all times. The hospital's biomedical engineering department certainly has a lot of other high-tech priorities, including state-of-the-art technologies. It's easy to overlook the humble portable X-ray machine.
Philips' Practix Convenio portable X-ray
system, one of the many versatile portable
models on the market today.
(Click to enlarge)
"What we found is that the biomedical engineer typically has to take care of all the imaging equipment in the hospital. Although the portable is the tiniest piece of the puzzle that the biomedical engineer works on, it's also the biggest headache if it doesn't work because it's used in the critical situations," said Maggie O'Mahoney, Marketing and Sales Manager, Mobile X-Ray Solutions, Inc., Augusta, Ga. "When the tech goes to take it to the cardiac cath lab or the neonatal intensive care room or the operating room, it has to work."
The company rebuilds, upgrades, sells and rents GE AMX portables and parts and offers technical training and support. (The company is a spin-off of Benco, known for rebuilding the portables for GE.) The GE AMX line is the "Cadillac" portable X-ray units, although Toshiba and Siemens also manufacture the equipment.
"Our aim is to eliminate the down time with those units, eliminate maintenance issues. We have a commitment that we can in almost every case get a portable back up and running in 24 hours," O'Mahoney said.
A 1994 GE AMX-IV portable X-ray unit fully
refurbished by Metropolis International. All worn
out and damaged parts were replaced with original
OEM replacement parts before QA testing.
(Click to enlarge)
Servicing the units entails replacing any worn or defective parts, most notably the tube plus calibration, but also batteries, wires and cables, latches, arm, etc. It can require reassembly of electrical, mechanical and electromechanical components to restore proper operation.
