time, routine maintenance is still sound practice. "I harp on this to my
X-ray techs all the time: We paid way too much money to buy it and
we're paying way too much money to maintain it," says Mr. Alexander.
"So, if that thing starts to even look at you cross-eyed, you call main-
tenance."
That way, Mr. Alexander says, he decides when the maintenance on
the C-arm is going to be done instead of running it until it breaks
down.
"They only break down when they're in use and that will be in the
middle of a surgical procedure. And that's not the time you want your
C-arm to malfunction," says Mr. Alexander.
6. The manufacturer
The market for flat-panel detectors — from $50,000 up to $175,000
depending on the vendor, software package and other options —
includes larger companies that are making C-arms, but also now
smaller companies that are getting into the technology and it's
becoming more readily available. Smaller companies may be able to
beat the price of the larger companies, but they may not have the
infrastructure to support it.
"The big companies have the field engineers in place and the depth
in their experience and knowledge of the technology," says Mr.
Alexander.
But when C-arms do break, they can be expensive to repair, so
focus on a vendor's quality, track record, service support and longevi-
ty as well. Also, be sure to know how quickly you can get replacement
parts.
Phasing to flat
The imaging industry is migrating toward phasing out image intensi-
1 1 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 8
