Times have changed. Welcome to the new world of C-arms, where
recent advancements in technology are nothing short of remarkable.
Among other things, newer C-arms are powered in such a way that
you can shoot X-rays through some of the largest human beings on
the planet, and still get the vivid pictures you need. By making surgery
dramatically safer and more efficient, as well as affording several
other advantages, they've become, in my opinion, vital investments for
clinicians who are committed to providing the best care possible.
Seeing is believing
I recently went through an evaluation process and helped guide the
purchase of a new state-of-the-art C-arm fluoroscopy unit for my hospi-
tal's outpatient surgery center. The advantages and innovations with
the new machines are many, but they start with the visuals. Simply put,
they put the "see" in C-arms.
Those of us who've been practicing for more than a few years
remember working with grainy pictures on monitors that were at best
equivalent to standard TV monitors. The ability to see what you really
needed was very limited. And if you happened to have a heavier
patient, you really couldn't see anything because the machine didn't
have enough juice to get the X-rays through the patient.
Most newer units not only have fairly large 4K monitors (about 20
inches) that display beautiful, vivid visuals, no matter how large the
patient is, they also let you connect the output from the C-arm to the
monitor of your choice. In other words, if you have a 40- or 50-inch
ultra-high-def monitor on your wall or boom, you can get an even big-
ger and bolder view of the anatomy you're working with.
No seconds needed
And if that view isn't good enough, you can make it even bigger — a
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