Refurbished Medical Equipment

In recent years, a large aftermarket has emerged for medical devices and equipment that have been restored to safety and efficacy. The equipment is refurbished through a process of repairing worn and broken parts or replacing them with original parts, and updating software and electronics. Because no product specifications are altered during the refurbishment process, as for remanufactured products, refurbished products may be sold worldwide without obtaining special approvals. This has created a burgeoning international market in medical equipment and devices, distinct from the market in used—and unrestored—products, and remanufactured products.

The market is expanding at an annual rate of almost 8% annually. By 2017, annual sales of refurbished medical equipment are expected to reach almost $8.5 billion worldwide. Both OEM producers of medical devices and equipment and third party vendors are active in the market. Refurbished equipment is widely used in both developed countries and emerging economies, driven by pressure to contain healthcare costs and environmental concerns. An estimated one third of CT scanners in the US are refurbished.

The refurbishing process generally starts with inspection and de-installation at the site of the original equipment owner. The condition of the equipment is assessed and its performance history is reviewed. If the equipment meets the refurbishing company’s criteria, and if spare parts are available (and will remain available for at least a few more years), the equipment is de-installed by qualified technicians and shipped to a factory, in the case of OEM refurbishers, or to an engineering workshop.

At the factory or workshop, the equipment is fully disassembled, cleaned and disinfected. Parts are painted or their finishes are otherwise restored. All components are checked for wear and operability, and worn or nonfunctioning elements are replaced with original parts. All software and systems are updated. In many cases, systems will be customized to meet customer requirements. Finally, the equipment undergoes testing to ensure that it performs safely and accurately.

Once the restoration process is complete, the equipment is shipped to the purchaser’s site and installed. It undergoes an on-site testing process and, when necessary, safety certification. Some vendors provide training in the use of the new system. In most cases, refurbished equipment is sold under warranty and with a service contract.

An extremely wide range of medical equipment and devices are sold as refurbished, including diagnostic and imaging equipment, surgical equipment, monitoring devices and biotechnology instruments.

Hospital Engineering

Hospitals are complex environments that encompass multiple sophisticated, mission-critical medical, infrastructure and operating systems. Engineering is an essential element of hospital design and engineers are integral to smooth hospital operations and efficient service delivery.

Electron Beam Scanners

Electron beam tomography (EBT) is a specialized form of computed tomography that is designed to obtain better images of heart structures than can be obtained using standard CT technology. In order to capture clear, accurate images of the constantly-moving heart, a CT’s X-ray source point must move extremely rapidly around the patient. In conventional CTs, X-ray tubes spin mechanically around the patient, but simply cannot move quickly enough to prevent blurring of cardiac images.

Spiral Scanner

Spiral scanners are advanced computer tomography (CT) scanners that use a spiral movement to yield a high resolution scan that produces 3D images of areas within the body.

Low Radiation CT Scans Thanks to Novel Device

Overuse of high radiation diagnostic devices has caused occurrences of cancer to increase exponentially. According to an article in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, 70 million CT scans were done in the United States alone in 2007, up from 3 million in 1980. Further, out of those patients who underwent CT scans in 2007, 29,000 of them are expected to develop cancer. It has become undeniable that overexposure to radiation is a health hazard that significantly increases a patient's risk of developing cancer.

Advances in CT Scanner X-Ray Tubes

Wilhelm Roentgen, is best known is best known for the discovery of "Roentgen Rays", now univerally known as x-rays. Around this time, in 1985, various scientists were investigating the movement of electrons through a glass apparatus known as a Crookes tube. Roentgen wanted to visually capture the action of the electrons, so he wrapped his Crookes tube in black photographic paper. When he ran his experiment, he noticed that a plate coated with a fluorescent material, which just happened to be lying nearby the tube, glowed. This was unexpected, because no visible light was being emitted from the wrapped tube. Upon further investigation, he found that indeed there was some kind of invisible light produced by this tube, and it could penetrate materials such as wood, aluminum, and even human skin.

As the field of radiography expanded, x-ray technology steadily improved. One of the major limitations of conventional x-rays was that they lacked depth; therefore many internal structures were superimposed on each other, making it difficult to read results. With the help of computers, scientists developed methods to solve this problem. One such method was computed tomography (CT), or computerized axial tomography (CAT). The first CT scanner was demonstrated in 1970 by Godfrey Hounsfield and Allen Cormack. Over the next 20 years, significant advances were made in CT scanner design, which have resulted in the high-quality imaging scanners used today, and still constantly improving.

A CT scanner x-ray tube is a special type of vacuum-sealed, electrical diode that was designed and developed to produce x-rays. The CT scanner x-ray tube is comprised of two electrodes: the cathode and anode. To generate x-rays, a filament in the cathode is charged with electricity from a high -voltage generator. This causes the filament to heat up and emit electrons. Using their natural attraction and a special focusing cup, the electrons travel directly toward the positively charged anode. X-rays are indiscriminately released when the electrons strike the anode. The anode, which can be rotating or not, then conducts the electricity back to the high-voltage generator to complete the circuit. To focus the x-rays into a beam, the CT scanner x-ray tube is contained inside a protective housing. This housing is lined with lead, except for a small window at the bottom. Functional x-rays are able to escape out this window, while the lead prevents the escape of stray radiation in other directions.

CT scanner x-ray tubes have gone through several generations of technological evolution. In the third generation, developers realized that if a pure rotational scanning motion could be used, rather than the slam-bang translational motion, then it would be possible to use higher power, rotating CT scanner x-ray tubes and therefore improve scan speeds in thicker, harder to penetrate body parts. A standard machine which most x-ray technicians are familiar with, uses a large fan beam, so that the patient is completely covered by the fan and the detector elements are aligned along the arc of a circle centered on the focus of the CT scanner x-ray tube. The CT scanner x-ray tube and detector array rotate as one through 360 degrees, different projections are attained during rotation by pulsing the x-ray source, and bow-tie shaped filters are chosen to suit the body or head shape by some manufacturers to avoid extreme variations in signal strength.

The fourth generation of CT scanners uses rotate-fixed ring geometry, where a ring of fixed detectors completely surrounds the patient. The x-ray tube rotates inside the detector ring through a full 360 degrees with a wide fan beam producing a single image.

A limiting factor in image acquisition used to be the CT scanner x-ray tube. The need for long, high intensity exposures and very stable output placed enormous demands on both the CT scanner x-ray tube and generator (power supply). Very high performance rotating anode CT scanner x-ray tubes were developed to keep up with demand for faster imaging, as were the regulated 150 kV switched mode power supplies to drive them. Current CT scanning systems have power ratings up to 100 kW.

The most popular, international marketplace for all types of medical equipment, featuring a large selection of CT scanner x-ray tubes, MedWOW, is an excellent place to find reliable and good-quality imaging equipment and parts. When purchasing or selling CT scanner x-ray tubes, MedWOW’s comprehensive portal attracts nearly 12,000 medical equipment professionals daily, making it easy to find what you seek. MedWOW has recently upgraded its imaging and CT scanner x-ray tubes section with additional manufacturers, including refurbished equipment and new and used CT scanner x-ray tubes. CT scanner x-ray tubes manufacturers represented on MedWOW include: Elscint, Esaote, GE Healthcare, Philips, Picker, Shimadzu, Siemens, Toshiba and more.

Medical Imaging Workstations Means More Effectiveness

The medical imaging workstation is situated in the field of information technology and has become an essential device in the clinical workflow of radiology departments. The images produced by digital x-ray computed radiography, direct digital radiography, computed tomography (CT) scanner, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, ultrasound or any of the other digital imaging tools are stored in the medical imaging’s workstation’s PACS (or picture archiving and communication system), and then may be retrieved, viewed and worked on, according to need.

The medical imaging workstation system was created in order to provide more economical and efficient storage of images, while giving quick access to rapid image retrieval, reports from multiple modalities and concurrent access from several different workstations at the same time. A PACS medical imaging workstation consists of four main mechanisms: imaging modalities such as CT and MRI, a protected system for the transmission of patient information, workstations for interpreting and reviewing images, and archives for the storage and retrieval of images and reports. Combined with already obtainable, as well as up-and-coming internet technology, PACS has the capability of distributing efficient, quick access to images, interpretations, and related data. PACS breaks down the physical and time barriers associated with traditional film-based image retrieval, distribution, and display, saving medical facilities both time and money.

In the past, before the existence of medical imaging workstations, everything had to be printed out on paper and film imaging necessitated expensive, toxic chemicals. In addition, thousands of patient records had to be stores in a hard copy format, which had to be organized and weren’t easy to access. Since PACS and other types of medical imaging workstations have been developed, medical facility efficiency has greatly improved, the time wasted on routine tasks has decreased and most importantly, the focus on caring for the patient has become easier as many tasks are automated.

This means that physicians and technicians consulting on a patient’s case can easily view the same images and communicate with each other. Most medical imaging workstations allow you to sort through thousands of digital images and work with the ones you want, while sharing them with others both onsite and offsite. Daily work can be backed-up and automatically and information from multiple workstations can be stored on a server both onsite and offsite.

Many medical imaging workstations also allow you to add text to digital images. High-resolution display monitors are used to guarantee high-quality presentation of the images, and a color display monitor is also available for use with the radiology information system (RIS), so that color images can be best viewed. The RIS part of the system allows you to schedule patients, order tests, and write reports, upgrading your radiology department for the ultimate in efficiency.