From the January 2012 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine

X-ray tubes and image intensifiers are both critical components of the X-ray imaging process. The former is a vacuum tube in which a cathode and anode work together to produce the X-rays used in both radiography and fluoroscopy. The latter is what transforms the X-ray into a visible image.

According to George Pardue, president of Imaging Affiliates, image intensifiers do not usually last more than 15 years. For heavily used systems, their life expectancy is significantly less. It is important to replace image intensifiers when they start to wear out, since that can lead to poor image quality, making it harder for radiologists to make accurate diagnoses, increasing the need for repeated procedures and upping the radiation dose delivered to a patient.

Tubes for general X-ray will typically last anywhere between three and seven years, says David Kuehn, vice president of global marketing and sales for Dunlee, a Philips Healthcare company. The life cycle of CT tubes could be anywhere from one to four years, depending on the manufacturer.
The cost of X-ray tubes, according to Kuehn, varies widely depending on the modality. “General X-ray tubes for basic X-ray equipment are between $5,000 and $15,000,” he says. “CT tubes can vary anywhere from $10,000 to $200,000.”

Digital is taking over
As has been the case for the past several years, image intensifiers are being replaced by digital flat panel detectors, which use less dosage while providing improved image quality and workflow. Unlike image intensifiers, flat panel detectors do not require imaging facilities to pay for the processing and storage of film.

“The writing’s on the wall there—you don’t see very many [image intensifiers] on any of the new equipment,” says Jeremy Probst, COO of Technical Prospects, a third-party medical imaging parts supplier, specializing in Siemens products.

Kuehn agrees that the image intensifier market is declining and will inevitably be phased out at some point. “It’s an analog product in a digital world,” he says.

“The equipment that uses image intensifiers is bulky and requires much more space,” David Hurlock, global sales manager of aftermarket X-ray products for Varian Medical Systems, writes to DOTmed News in an email. “New generation systems with flat panel digital detectors can be smaller, portable, lighter, streamlined and more versatile.”

“Flat panels have been more expensive than image intensifiers, and that’s the only reason they haven’t been totally replaced,” says Imaging Affiliate’s Pardue. “Flat panels have not evolved to a point where they’re readily available for replacements, but I see that in the future -- probably starting next year.”

January 2012 Magazine

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