The future of digital radiography imaging is adaptability. Gone are the days of the limited floor mounted X-ray machine and in its place sits a fully modular, upgradeable system that has the adaptability that is more similar to a smartphone than its aging predecessor.
Bruce Ashby, vice president of digital radiography sales at Wayne, N.J.-based Konica Minolta Healthcare, shared his thoughts on the future of digital radiography (DR) imaging. .jpg)
Mr. Ashby says the radiography systems of the past established themselves for doing one job really well. A traditional floor mounted X-ray imaging system is a like flip phone; it's limited in capabilities and if a center wants to do anything additional, it has to scrap the system and install a new model at a premium. In contrast, the best imaging systems of today provide multiple functions and can do everything well. Similar to how a smartphone can download new software and add features inexpensively and quickly, the imaging systems of today are about preparing for tomorrow.
For example, Konica Minolta X-ray systems provide high quality X-rays and also have the flexibility to do so much more. In the past, if a center wanted to add stitching capability to the machine, it couldn't do it with the floor-mounted X-ray system. Today with systems such as ours, the customer can customize it to their needs by adding modules such as stitching. As we develop new capabilities, they can easily be added to the newer systems purchased by customers.
Konica Minolta’s focus is not just providing the user with the needed capabilities, it is also improving the patient experience. A great example is the AeroDR Auto-Stitching System. In the past stitching required patients to sit still for extended periods of time while several X-ray images were taken. Now, the system moves automatically and has advanced software that recognizes anatomical margins to combine the images automatically. It saves time for the hospital and provides a better experience for the patient.
An upgradable X-ray system can also help facilities increase their business. A radiology center with a used floor-mounted machine is eventually going to reach the ceiling of what the system can do, and limit the center’s growth. But as Mr. Ashby says, "the technology we're developing today is not for today, it's for tomorrow." So with the next generation X-ray system, the center can expand its business by partnering with an orthopedic clinic for example. Then easily add an orthopedic module for around $15,000 to accommodate orthopedic surgeons’ needs instead of either facility having to purchase a whole new imaging system to image orthopedic patients. It’s just like downloading an app.
Both centers benefit from the partnership and the return on investment for adding that new specialty occurs quickly.
"If you continue to keep doing what you've been doing you're going to get the same results," Mr. Ashby says. "So how do we improve the experience for you at the imaging center? How do we bring more people into your building and how do we reach out to other subspecialties?"
Recently, Mr. Ashby visited a hospital that had an X-ray system from 1977 and was weighing its options as it sought to upgrade. The center purchased a DR X-ray panel and wanted to install it onto the late 70s era machine.
"If you went to a mechanic with your 1977 car and told them to put a fuel injected, five liter engine in, he's going say 'Are you crazy?' If you put that engine in that car your brakes aren't going to work, your transmission isn't going to work. You'll be doing wheelies all over the place," Mr. Ashby says. "But if you brought in a more recent model, the upgrade would be no problem."
The same concept holds true for imaging systems; the new systems can easily handle an upgrade while the older traditional systems struggle with the new technologies. For example, traditional retrofitting of systems is done through the addition of a DR panel or by a computed radiography (CR) system.
The CR systems replaced the traditional film X-rays of the past by creating a digital image. They lowered the time for the image development and allowed images to be easily stored. The cons to the CR system are they take up a significant amount of space and are slow by today’s standards. DR panels are smaller and faster, and save centers money in the long term despite their higher upfront cost, but Mr. Ashby says a simply upgrading to a DR panel might not be the best solution.
"Administrators and CEOs were finding out it didn't make as much sense to upgrade a legacy room because even when they bought a new DR panel, it was still coupled with a flip phone at its core," Mr. Ashby says. "If the X-ray system doesn't have advanced technologies relative to APRs, auto positioning and auto stitching capabilities, it doesn't provide forward thinking opportunities."
Konica Minolta is delivering more of these modular X-ray systems, and Mr. Ashby says they're designed with helping hospitals meet the challenges of triple aim at the center. DR panels allow a system to image faster, and at a cheaper rate while producing a higher quality end product.
"We can add the things the customer needs while helping their business grow and supporting the triple aim goals," he says. "Konica Minolta can improve the cost, enhance patient care, and clearly improve the experience."
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