by
Keith Loria, Reporter | February 19, 2011
From the January/February 2011 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Fujifilm is the lone OEM offering insurance policies for dropping the detectors. “When it comes to DR in a portable type of device, customers are going to need to be a little more careful with it,” Fabrizio says. “They are designed to be a little more rugged and not break easily, but they are a lot more fragile than a CR cassette. In some environments, CR is going to be a better choice.”
Fujifilm's FDR
D-Evo wireless system
Steve Eisner, marketing manager for Konica Minolta, says durability is only half the equation. “The replacement cost upon failure is the real issue,” he says. “DR detector failure is a significant issue. The financial risk is much greater than in CR even if failure rates were the same or reduced. The concern is that portable DR detectors will be more prone to damage and theft.”
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Scintillator choice
There are two major detector designs using scintillator technology: gadolinium oxysulfide (GOS) and cesium iodide. “This has been a huge topic in DR lately and we are seeing more companies shift into cesium iodide or offering both,” Philips’ Lobree says.
GOS is the original type of scintillator used for years in portable detectors and is more durable, lighter and less expensive.
“That makes it much better with portable detectors because you just know it’s going to get dropped at some time and you want it to be as light as possible,” Fujifilm’s Fabrizio says. “Cesium iodide creates a higher image resolution. However, it’s more expensive, heavier and contains crystals, making it much more fragile. Those are things that work against it in a portable.”
For applications like high-resolution lung imaging and soft tissue details, cesium iodide’s benefits outweigh its costs for some clinicians. The same holds for pediatric imaging.
“For someone at an orthopedic clinic, they probably don’t need to spend the extra money for cesium iodide,” Lobree says. “For someone doing everything including pediatrics and lots of high-res chest imaging, everyone recognizes that cesium iodide gives advantages in image quality and dose.”
Dose issues
With some negative press regarding high-dose exposure in the past year, doctors are feeling the pressure to provide the best care with the lowest dose possible. That anxiety is being passed to the OEMs that are being tasked with providing a solution.
