Archive for the ‘medical supply’ Category

Kodak Direct View CR950

When it comes to X-ray CR machines, the name Kodak springs to mind automatically. Kodak has been a pioneer in this field with many years of experience and expertise to lend to its products and medical supply. It offers an extensive range of such systems that combine ease of use, reliability and quality and lends credibility and confidence to diagnostic procedures and medical equipment.

The Kodak direct view CR 950 system is a fast and reliable CR processor that provides a decentralized and streamlined workflow and increases productivity and ensures customer satisfaction. It allows for easy access, processing, distribution and management of digital image files and is compatible with most radiographic equipment available in the market. It can be easily integrated with PACS, RIS and laser imagers.

The salient features include the ability to process up to 86 cassettes an hour. The decentralized workflow optimizes productivity and multitasking. The option to perform most of the workflow functions remotely through a remote operations panel extends its functionality and flexibility. It also combines network features and can connect to multiple operations panels. Its ease of use and friendly and intuitive interface ensures that even those who are technically less adequate can operate it with relative ease, a feature consistent across all Kodak CR systems.

This piece of medical equipment offers connectivity to Laser printers and PACS and DICOM format devices with additional features such as multi format printing, screens for listing work and printer status, an option to customize the image size. It comes with an uninterrupted power supply feature than ensures data preservation during power loss and outages. It comes with add on software bundles including EVP software that provides wider latitude images with consistent image contrast and detail. The software offers a range of options with respect to image preparation and productivity enhancements.

Coordination of communication between patient and provider is ensured through Data entry software that can be stored on a PC workstation with remote access options.

Technorati Tags: ,

Posted on June 11, 2009 in Medical Equipment, medical supply

Power Supply Needs For Medical Equipment

Whenever you select and purchase electrical medical equipment, the first step in installation is to consider the electrical needs and power source for that piece of equipment.

First assess the power needs of your medical equipment. Power needs will vary greatly. X-ray machines, for example, use a great deal of power and require special wiring and outlets that only a professional licensed electrician will be able to install and certify as meeting all code requirements. The manufacturer’s website and/or equipment manuals will have electrical specifications spelled out in detail. Share the specifications with your electrician and ensure that you and your electrician follow them to the letter. An incorrect power set up will ruin your investment in an instant, not to mention potentially causing harm to your office and/or staff.

If your purchased equipment can run off of standard current, there are still considerations which need to be made. The majority of instrumentation, especially medical equipment, has internal circuitry that is like a computer; in fact, some analyzers exceed the computing capacity of some home computers. So your equipment will need at least the same level of protection as a computer. Regular domestic current is anything but regular and steady. There are fluctuations and waves in the electricity, and too little current can be as troublesome and dangerous as too much.

The first and most basic of types of protection needed is a surge protector. If you think of the electric power as a wave, the surge protector will cut off the tops of a wave and let through electricity that falls under a certain level. Do not, however, fall into the trap of “one surge protector is as good as another.” Make sure you spend the money to buy a quality surge protector.

Even with a surge protector in place, you may not have enough protection. You see, waves that can go up (power surges), can go down (brown outs), and one can be as damaging as the other. If the electricity falls, the instrument, sensitive to changes in electricity, will “open itself,” if you will, to get as much of the electricity as it can. So, when the power comes back to normal levels, it can hit the medical supply almost as hard as a real power surge. This surge may be well below the absolute limit of the surge protector, but the circuitry in your piece of medical equipment will be fried all the same. Additionally, equipment that tries to run on inadequate current will burn itself out, much like a car that tries to drive 70 mph in first gear.

The device that can protect you from both surges and brown outs is called a power conditioner, or line conditioner. This cleans the highs and lows off of the electricity, “conditioning” the electrical power and keeping the level constant. This is the safest way to protect your new piece of medical equipment.

The other piece of equipment you may wish to consider is an un-interruptible power supply. This piece of equipment functions much like a combination surge protector and battery back-up, and can keep your equipment running for a period of time even in the event of a power failure. This can be especially important for equipment like office computers, where critical data can be lost during a power failure, or to keep medical equipment on which your patients depend running until it may be switched over to an alternative power source.

Technorati Tags: ,

The How-To Of Learning How To Use New Medical Equipment

So you’ve decided to purchase a new or new-to-you piece of medical equipment, and you have it installed. Your next hurdle is getting your staff trained in using the medical equipment.

There are three primary ways for staff to learn how to work new equipment or instrumentation: through the vendor, through training by experienced personnel, or through self-tutorial. Which choice is best for you is as much a factor of the instrument or medical equipment itself as the nature of your practice.

To determine which of these ways will be optimal for your particular situation, find out if training is addressed in the warranty for your equipment or instrumentation. If it is, and chances are it will be for new equipment, training decisions have already been made for you; your job is now to follow those directives to the letter. Oddly enough, this type of training can be the least expensive, because the training, including the expenses for travel to the corporate headquarters of the manufacturer for that training, is typically included in the purchase price of your new equipment.

If you have a machine that has no warranty, or you have a machine that is very simple to operate, already experienced staff can train other staff in proper use of the equipment. The key difference here is that in this kind of knowledge exchange, you may obtain perfectly fine operational skills, but you will not receive any kind of certification. If a manufacturer trains you to use their equipment, you usually receive a statement of certification from the manufacturer. Your question here is then whether or not certification is required by law or another rule making body. Does your profession require certification? If so, what kind, or how much? The answer to these questions will vary depending on the nature of your practice and the equipment being used.

The last category is self-tutorial. In this instance your staff will study all available documentation and manuals for the equipment in question. Manuals and documentation are generally available through the manufacturer, often at no cost through the manufacturer’s website. Self-tutorial is an effective educational and training option only for simple medical equipment and experienced staff.

Technorati Tags:

How To Pick The Medical Equipment You Need

The first consideration you need to make is the nature of the population you are going to serve. Are the demographics shifted older rather than younger? In that case you may need more assistance devices than holders for educational material. More young women than older ones? Look into lower cost pregnancy tests.

Now consider the nature of your practice. An orthopedic surgeon cannot function without an x-ray machine, and the best one he can afford. A small family practice may have limited used for a x-ray machine and a smaller, lower volume machine may serve very well.

Accessibility is the next consideration. Is the practice that you are equipping in a major urban area, with all the associated support? In that case having a number of a good medical supply companies close at hand may help you control the costs of maintaining your instruments. On the other hand, an extremely rural area may force you to stock up on expendable supplies much more than a practice in the big city.

Turn around time is another consideration. How fast does your practice need the results? Take lab tests for an example. There are several national laboratory companies that will have expedited times for several tests. This, or a relationship with the local hospital, may supersede the need to have an in house chemistry analyzer. But if you are running any kind of urgent care facility, a twenty four hour turn around time may be unacceptable. And your instrumentation has to reflect that need.

Changes within your profession may influence these decisions. Are there new innovations on the horizon that will deepen the services that you offer? If so, those might be the only consideration that you need to make. But if an existing piece of instrumentation will serve your clinical need that may be an option.

Of course, an overriding concern is cost. Various vendors offer several financing options, and used medical equipment cannot be overlooked in this economic climate. These can be the hardest questions to answer, but the cost cannot become the sole determination in your medical equipment purchase decision. Taking all these factors into account will help you to pick out the best instrumentation for your practice.

Technorati Tags: , ,