by
Lisa Chamoff, Contributing Reporter | November 22, 2016
From the November 2016 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
“At the end of the day, most facilities don’t really want to purchase fluoroscopy, but it’s necessary. Generally, people are replacing rooms every 15 years. You have to be able to give them the ability to either keep the asset they already have and upgrade it to existing technology, or give them an option for new equipment that covers the gamut of exams that a department has, so the system doesn’t stay idle.”
Philips
The company is awaiting 510(k) clearance for its CombiDiagnost R90 cross-functional DRF system, a remote-controlled, high-end combination room designed to increase room utilization. “Instead of two separate rooms for dedicated fluoroscopy and radiography exams, they can use fluoroscopy in the morning and for the rest of the day use it for radiography,” says Richard Moessel, sales and business development specialist for diagnostic X-ray at Philips. “Fluoroscopy is really important and this is where we still want to position ourselves.”
The system comes with the option of a vertical stand and ceiling-mounted tube, along with Philips SkyPlate wireless detectors. It comes with Grid Controlled Fluoroscopy — a Philips technology of pulsed fluoroscopy that uses a grid-switched X-ray tube, and the control of X-ray parameters, such as the X-ray tube voltage, current and time, within each single pulse to provide a high-quality image at low dose — and other features to manage dose capabilities.
Especially for pediatric patients, CombiDiagnost R90's smart beam management reduces patient movement blur and blooming effect while at the same time managing the X-ray dose. Sharply defined X-ray pulses eliminate ramps and trails so there is no soft radiation emitted. With In-Pulse Control, very low pulse frequencies are possible. The image is adapted immediately to the density of the current region of interest.
The CombiDiagnost R90 employs Philips' Eleva user interface to provide all the tools and controls necessary for seamless procedures. This one common platform is easy to learn and easy to use, and is highly suitable for streamlining the radiography department. It is the same harmonized user interface found across Philips' radiography portfolio.
FUJIFILM Medical Systems
Before RSNA 2015, the company released the second generation of its Virtual Grid capability, a new software that simulates the use of a physical grid used to eliminate scatter radiation in images. The software simulates what a lead line grid would do, estimating the scatter in the image and compensating for it.
