From the January/February 2014 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


“We are currently developing new technologies that will offer other improvements to help enhance the presentation of diagnostic information,” Titus says.

D’Antonio notes that there is continuous improvement within the imaging chain which, along with the detector technology and software, remains the same between the company’s fixed and mobile units.


“At Siemens, we don’t look at portable X-ray as a separate product,” D’Antonio says.

OEMs are constantly looking at the balance between dose and image quality and the different algorithms that go into producing the clearest images. They are also releasing smaller detectors, with companies such as Fujifilm offering a 24x30 centimeter wireless flat panel detectors (FPDs), small enough to fit into Isolette trays in the NICU.

One of the challenges with FPDs, especially in the NICU, is that panel size is not uniform among vendors and some come with handles, which can make them harder to fit into neonatal incubator trays, says Lori Webb, a clinical analyst with MD Buyline, a technology research firm. Carestream began shipping a 25-centimeterby- 30-centimeter FPD in September, while Agfa came out with an 11-inch-by-14-inch detector last year. Konica introduced its 10-inchby- 12-inch plate last year at RSNA. Infants can be imaged without the tray, with the detector placed under the small patient or the mattress, but that comes with a higher risk of infection and the possibility of poor image quality and the need for repeat exposure if the baby moves, Webb says.

“From a technologist’s point of view, if you have a panel that fits in there seamlessly, and it’s one less thing to worry about, that’s better,” says Webb, who has a 19-year background in radiology and still works part-time as a practicing clinician at a local emergency facility. “I realize it may not be financially productive to come out with something just for the NICU, but stranger things have happened.”

It’s something hospitals, especially with a large and busy NICU, may have to consider when choosing a DR vendor. Webb notes that it may be advantageous for FPD vendors and incubator manufacturers to work together.

“You have some of these accessory companies working with MRI and making coils,” Webb says. “I’m kind of surprised that there hasn’t been this kind of a partnership. That would be very powerful.”

Darren Werner, digital radiography product manager for Konica Minolta Medical Imaging, says the patient population within NICU settings presents an opportunity for multiple detector sizes.

January/February 2014 Magazine

Read more stories from the January/February 2014 issue

More Industry Reports