Many cliches spring to mind to describe the role of portable X-ray devices in a hospital: You're only as strong as your weakest link. Or, how about: For the want of a nail the kingdom was lost.

These unheralded machines play an indispensable role in many critical care settings such as the ER, so it's important to keep them in service at all times. The hospital's biomedical engineering department certainly has a lot of other high-tech priorities, including state-of-the-art technologies. It's easy to
overlook the humble portable X-ray machine.


"What we found is that the biomedical engineer typically has to take care of all the imaging equipment in the hospital. Although the portable is the tiniest piece of the puzzle that the biomedical engineer works on, it's also the biggest headache if it doesn't work because it's used in the critical situations," said Maggie O'Mahoney, Marketing and Sales Manager, Mobile X-Ray Solutions, Inc., Augusta, Ga. "When the tech goes to take it to the cardiac cath lab or the neonatal intensive care room or the operating room, it has to work."

The company rebuilds, upgrades, sells and rents GE AMX portables and parts and offers technical training and support. (The company is a spin-off of Benco, known for rebuilding the portables for GE.) The GE AMX line is the "Cadillac" portable X-ray units, although Toshiba and Siemens also manufacture the equipment.




"Our aim is to eliminate the down time with those units, eliminate maintenance issues. We have a commitment that we can in almost every case get a portable back up and running in 24 hours," O'Mahoney said.

Servicing the units entails replacing any worn or defective parts, most notably the tube plus calibration, but also batteries, wires and cables, latches, arm, etc. It can require reassembly of electrical, mechanical and electromechanical
components to restore for proper operation.

O'Mahoney noted the important distinction between rebuilding and refurbishing since rebuilding is essentially stripping the unit down to the bare frame. "Our business deals solely with the AMX portables by rebuilding and extending the life of these workhorses that are unparalleled in the industry. We don't just refurbish a unit, we rebuild a unit and that is what sets us apart from our competitors."

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