by
Lisa Chamoff, Contributing Reporter | May 27, 2015
From the May 2015 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Automation in X-ray testing
The same focus on automation and workflow extends to X-ray test equipment. Aside from recently adding a Survey sensor for X-ray leakage and scatter radiation to its RaySafe X2 X-ray measurement system, which was introduced in November 2012 and updated a year later with the RaySafe X2 Prestige, the company is looking to make the software on the base unit more useful while on the job. Generally, technicians use the base, which operates on an Android platform, and then transfer data to their computers, says Göran Zelander, senior product manager for diagnostic X-ray at Unfors RaySafe, which was acquired last year by Fluke Biomedical.
“We are incorporating features in the X2 base unit software to minimize the need to connect a PC while performing measurements,” Zelander explains. RaySafe has added features at the request of users, including the ability to add notes to a measurement and to access old measurements. “When you perform measurements with the RaySafe X2, you can scroll through exposures captured during that session, and earlier sessions,” Zelander explains. “Previously, when a user would change a sensor or shut off the RaySafe X2, the earlier measurements would no longer be viewable on the base unit. We learned this wasn’t optimal for our customers, so we made improvements to the software to enable users to access stored measurements.”
The base unit also shows the entire waveform and the company added a zoom function, providing a simpler way to see what happened at a specific time of a long exposure. “Ease of use means productivity gains, and that’s what it’s all about,” says Zelander A technical boost to data connectivity was unveiled by Radcal at RSNA 2014 and recently at the ECR 2015. It’s Accu-Gold Nugget, which the company states is the first Wi-Fi device for data transmission after each X-ray exposure by any non-invasive diagnostic x-ray meter.
Patrick Pyers, vice president of sales, marketing and business development for Radcal, says the traditionally-used Bluetooth is not reliable, especially when it comes to radiological testing. The Bluetooth signal can easily be dropped because of a lead wall or other instrument interferences. Wi-Fi is less prone to interference, Pyers says, and is a strong and secure connection to the measurement device.
