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Barbara Kram, Editor | August 12, 2009
Pre-owned Equipment an Option
If you want European optics and can't afford the price of new equipment, which can top $250,000, a used surgical microscope might fit the bill. In fact, for diagnostic purposes in doctors' offices and for some surgical center procedures, pre-owned equipment is a popular option.
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Leica M690 with multiplex
refurbished by TascosaGroup
"Hospitals are using new technology, particularly in neurosurgery, to recruit surgeons. They have the pull to request new equipment. So older technology tends to go to surgery centers," observed John Patton, a repair technician whose company is Patton Pending. He reports that Leica and Zeiss do not support older instruments, creating the need for some reverse engineered parts, as well as maintenance and repair expertise.
"We see two types of service--demand service where something breaks and you get called in to repair that. Usually that is an emergency," Patton said. "Then you have the preventive maintenance side where they call you in once or twice a year to prevent breakdowns."
He explained that a fair amount of emergency service is on the electronics-- circuit boards blow out and cables are broken. Since the optics are so sensitive, a lot of optical repair is also required.
"Some facilities are very careful about how they treat a quarter-million dollar piece of equipment. Others push it along and may bang a wall," he said of the popular portable instruments that can be wheeled to the OR suite as needed. Fortunately, newer instruments have computer diagnostics that aid in repair efforts.
"The aftermarket is a fairly good field. Although everyone is experiencing a sales slow down, the repair end is very good. When people don't buy new equipment, they repair the old. So the repair end of business is doing very well," Patton said.
Mechanically speaking, these instruments are quite robust, leading to long service life. Refurbishing and certification of equipment entails making sure all the glass is right, that optics are clean, in alignment and up to manufacturer's specifications; tightening and cleaning all mechanical parts and making sure they are functioning properly; as well as painting and lubricating.
