When OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Ill., was looking for a cost-effective way to upgrade its portable X-ray fleet, the facility considered a number of alternatives in its capital equipment search.
A large teaching hospital that performs about 125,000 diagnostic imaging procedures annually, St. Francis has a radiology department that includes a variety of imaging modalities.
By upgrading its CR-based portable X-ray devices, the department was searching for a way to bring a mature but much-needed imaging modality into the digital arena to improve throughput and efficiency, said Juanita Reader, Manager of Diagnostic Radiology In-Patient and Informatics.
“We wanted to go to a more digital environment but still be as cost-effective as possible,” Reader said.
The hospital considered several different vendors in its search, but ultimately selected Carestream Health of Rochester, N.Y., for its DRX mobile X-ray units. St. Francis purchased one DRX-Revolution Mobile X-ray as well as two retrofit kits that allowed insertion of DRX detectors into two of its older, analog, portable GE AMX 4 X-ray machines.
By inserting new DRX detectors into its existing inventory of equipment, St. Francis saved money over the cost of buying new systems, added new functionality to some of its workhorse devices, and helped improve its operations on a number of levels, Reader said.
