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How Much Does a Mobile CT Rental Cost?

How Much Does a Mobile CT Rental Cost? | blog article by Catalina Imaging

CT Scanners are a staple in any healthcare facility. It is essential to help diagnose a patient accurately. Simply put, Computerized Tomography scanning is necessary because:

  • They detect bone and joint problems
  • They spot cancer, heart disease, emphysema, liver mass
  • They show internal injuries and bleeding
  • They locate blood clots, excess fluid, infection, and/or tumors

The list goes on and on. And ideally, a healthcare facility should have a scanner or two, but not all may be able to afford their regular maintenance.

But there may be seasons of high demand, and so additional capacity, by means of mobile CT rentals, may be taken into consideration.

At a time like now when there is a COVID-19 pandemic — while the topic is a hot subject of debate — CT scans may provide some assistance in the early detection or correct diagnosis of the condition. The matter is a double-edged sword, though, and medical professionals are still weighing the pros versus the cons.

How much will a Mobile CT Rental Cost?

When all reasons and factors have been considered, all you now need to know is the Cost of a Mobile CT Rental. Factors that will contribute are:

1. The length of the rent, if it will be monthly or annually
2. The capability of the machine. Depending on a given brand and the features built into a given CT machine.
Please email info@catalinaimaging or give us a call for a Mobile CT Quote

3. Aside from the rent, there are riders like:

  • The refundable security deposit
  • The transportation to and from your healthcare facility
  • The installation and de-installation fees
  • The cleaning and maintenance fees

 

It would be wise to study your contract very closely. In some cases, a lease may be the better option.

Why Rent a Mobile CT Machine?

There are a number of reasons why Mobile CT Rental may be the best choice for a healthcare facility. As mentioned earlier, there may be seasons of high demand, and the staple CT machine may not be enough to service all the patients.

Mobile CT Rental may be the best way to go if:

  1. There are renovations in your facility and the scanning may need to be done in a temporary space.
  2. The facility’s scanner is starting to show signs of wear and tear and you want to test a new scanner for a possible upgrade.
  3. If you are deciding whether or not to get another scanner for your facility and you want to see if two machines can be maximized.
  4. If your facility is used as a training or continuing education course and you need a machine for demonstration purposes without disrupting regular operations.
  5. If your facility needs to catch up on patient backlog especially at a time like now when there is a pandemic and further testing is necessary for some cases.
  6. In the case of a facility with multiple branches, a rented mobile CT can go from branch to branch on certain days of the week to help service patients.
  7. If you are not allowed to purchase a new machine but you can manage the rental fee in your operating budget.

Other Considerations for a Mobile CT Rental

Do not forget the importance of customer support. Choose a company that provides it 24/7; that provides added data for you; that provides insured equipment, and that offers training to your radiologists and technicians in the use of their machine.

Technology is not only updated but also state of the art. Get your money’s worth with Mobile CT Machines from GE, Toshiba, and Siemens.

Rent from Catalina Imaging

Ron Wright founded Catalina Imaging 30 years ago based on the principle of face-to-face customer contact. Understanding the urgency of maintaining equipment uptime was experienced firsthand. This experience is the foundation of Catalina Imaging today: personnel are familiar with the engineering and workings of our Mobile CT units.

Catalina Imaging also provides:

  1. Customized reliable equipment to support your clinical needs
  2. Customer support 24/7
  3. Affordability
  4. Site assistance, pre-planning, and set-up
  5. Transportation and on-time delivery
  6. Systems that meet OEM specifications or greater
  7. Equipment and trailer service maintenance
  8. Information such as current physicist surveys
  9. Trailers licensed through DOH
  10.  Fully insured equipment
  11.  Applications training (additional fees may apply)

 

We are there for you and with you in every step of the Mobile CT rental process, from planning your CT rental to the end of the lease. Delivery, set up, and maintenance of your Mobile CT units are not a problem because we are always there with you. We are also just a call away any time issues come up — and we mean it.

We go above and beyond simply delivering and maintaining your Mobile CT Units.

 

 

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A Final Word

How much does a Mobile CT Rental cost? At the cost of saving a life, it is absolutely priceless. Rent from the company that will make sure you have all the support you need. Rent from Catalina Imaging.

Experience our Mobile CT Scanner right now inside our mobile imaging unit. We leave you with this video:

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Covid-19 Affects Non-White Patients More Severely, According to Study

Covid-19 Affects Non-White Patients More Severely, According to Study | Catalina Imaging

In a recent study, it has been found that non-white, Covid-19 patients, are more likely to develop more severe cases of the illness. According to radiologist Dr. Efren J. Flores, co-founder of the study, who works at the Massachusetts General Hospital, “It got to the point where half of our patient population admitted with COVID-19 were underrepresented minorities [in our local population].”

After analyzing data from 326 Covid-19 patients and examining their chest X-Rays, the result became clear: non-white patients coming from lower socioeconomic groups were more likely to be put in ICUs and die.

There is a multitude of reasons that contribute to this phenomenon. On its own, the virus can affect anyone. António Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, said, “The virus does not discriminate, but its impacts do, exposing deep weaknesses in the delivery of public services and structural inequalities that impede access to them.”

It leaves the people with low-wage jobs more prone to severe cases of the disease because they have limited sick leaves and health care benefits from their employers. The authors of the study pointed out that Blacks, Hispanics, and people from other ethnic minorities were more likely to have these kinds of jobs. Dr. Flores noted that these people tend to refrain from going to the hospital, due to the fact that they live on a weekly paycheck and have other dependents.

The authors also observed that the patients in these groups usually live in overcrowded, high-density urban areas that make social distancing more difficult.

Another underlying socioeconomic factor that the authors have found is limited English proficiency. As the new health information regarding Covid-19 was only available in English during the first few months, non-English-speaking individuals had trouble going through the complex medical system.

Lastly, the institutional racism that many of these people have previously experienced resulted in distrust in the medical system. It leads to them not seeking care until the disease becomes severe.

These healthcare problems experienced by the non-white people have already been present way before the pandemic, but the situation exposed and amplified them further.

Source: Medical News Today

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15,000 Participants Attend European Congress of Radiology’s Virtual Exhibition

15,000 Participants Attend European Congress of Radiology’s Virtual Exhibition | Catalina Imaging

Last July 15-19, 2020, there were around 15,000 participants from all over the world, from approximately 30 countries, who joined the European Congress of Radiology’s “Virtual Exhibition.”

Comparing it to last year’s attendance count, it represented a 5% increase in numbers. This year’s event was also the very first time in history that this was done entirely online.

The Vienna Convention Bureau was very much involved in the organization and made it possible to be done digitally as this is Europe’s biggest congress for radiology and radiotechnology.

Overall, 216 companies showcased their products by doing demonstrations and conducting webinars, and this was all delivered through an online format.

As this was something new for the organization, they also added a new feature of the digital EDR 2020 called “ESR Table Talks.” Professor Boris Brkljačić and Professor Lorenzo Derchi, along with the hosts, presented this segment, reporting from the European Society of Radiology building, which is located in the middle of Vienna.

Congress President Professor Brkljačić stated that “The educational content at this year’s congress has been of an extremely high standard and, although I hope that we will meet together in Vienna again soon, I think this congress has proved that online conference formats are possible and that the ESR has successfully set an industry standard with last week’s meeting.”

So in this year’s exhibition, a new feature called the “Vienna Lounge” was also launched. The whole Viennese ambiance comes from this — as the goal of it is to be a backdrop for the congress, wherein there were various activities like cooking courses, concerts, and finally, as it is also on the delegate program, the virtual tours of the Viennese museums were also conducted.

Some companies also opted to do specific satellite symposia. There will be ten highlight weeks until December 2020, which will tackle a series of curated topics.

For more information: www.myesr.org

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Top Radiology Groups Team Up For ‘Massive’ COVID-19 Imaging Database

Top Radiology Groups Team Up For ‘Massive’ COVID-19 Imaging Database | Catalina Imaging

Top radiology experts are working together to develop the Medical Imaging and Data Resource Center (MIDRC) — an extensive, open-source medical image database of COVID-19 patients to help in the ongoing battle against the virus.

The massive public-private project partnership is funded under the National Institute of Health’s special COVID-19 emergency response through a contract with the University of Chicago and in collaboration with major radiology networks; The American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America, and American Association of Physicists.

Dr. Etta Pisano, ASR Chief Research Officer said in the announcement that, “The MIDRC database will provide a critical tool to help the medical imaging community, doctors and scientists better understand COVID-19 and its biological effects on humans. This knowledge, and the technological advancements the registry can enable, will ultimately help providers save lives,”

Aside from leading radiologists, top engineers, physicians, and scientists join the project’s pool of experts to collect and organize the data using artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. This strategy is implemented to improve the accuracy and speed of handling more than 10,000 COVID thoracic x-rays and CT images.

As a result, radiologists can focus on analyzing the medical images from COVID-19 patients. The scans play a vital role in determining the severity of the virus and prescribing an optimal and individualized treatment for a patient.

The project also includes five infrastructure developments and supervision of twelve research studies, including 20 university-run laboratories, to find solutions to the coronavirus pandemic.

The MIDRC provides a rich and accessible resource of scans and clinical data for medical professionals and researchers worldwide.

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) research committee chair and a faculty of the University of Washington, Dr. Paul Kinahan, said that they are initially focusing on COVID-19 but the network has plans to expand imaging data and AI tools to existing and future healthcare threats.

Sources

  1. HealthImaging.com
  2. RSNA.org
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Study Proves Snapchat Effective in Learning Radiology

Study Proves Snapchat Effective in Learning Radiology | Catalina Imaging

A study conducted by researchers at LSU Health New Orleans suggests that Snapchat might actually be an effective channel for teaching radiology.

Seven faculty members from LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine recently launched a study to evaluate the effectiveness of social media platform Snapchat in radiology didactics.

The researchers theorized that smartphone technology coupled with the radiology residents’ proficiency in utilizing social media can help improve accuracy and performance in imaging diagnosis.

To prove this hypothesis, the research group compared the quality of image analysis done by radiology residents using Snapchat with those who worked with the standard single-screen analysis.

Snapchat, a popular social media app known for focusing on video and visual imagery as its main form of communications, was chosen as the test subject due to one distinct feature.

Unlike the other image-centric apps on the digital market, Snapchat lets the user control the timing of the image’s visibility. This capability is especially helpful in radiologic education since selecting how long an image remains viewable by the user creates an opportunity for innovation in providing a fast and accurate image-based diagnosis.

A study conducted by researchers at LSU Health New Orleans suggests that Snapchat might just be an effective channel for teaching radiology.

The testing for the comparisons between Snapchat-aided and regular screen image analysis lasted for four weeks.

During the experiment, LSU Health New Orleans radiology residents were shown five developing radiologic cases using Snapchat and the same number of cases with identical content and time scale on a screen projector. The images were of diagnoses needing immediate interpretation for the physicians in charge. Two radiologists attended the trials and scored the performance of the residents in reading the diagnosis using both the social media app and the classroom projector.

Dr. Bradley Spieler, vice chairman of research at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine’s radiology department, claims that all residents performed better on Snapchat every week, with their accuracy rate consistently scoring higher on Snapchat than when operating with the conventional classroom screen.

As stated by Dr. Spieler, “All cases used were diagnoses considered to require emergent, non-routine communication on the order of minutes to the ordering health care provider. As such, these types of diagnoses demand prompt imaging recognition as they are considered critical findings which could result in death or significant illness if not acted upon expeditiously.”

The researchers believe that it is important to continue discovering alternative ways of teaching and learning, especially with the new challenges brought about by COVID-19.

Since smartphones are often used in hospitals, healthcare professionals should already be comfortable enough to integrate their use into medical applications.

According to the authors of the study, “the hope is that this investigation can aid in the promotion of active learning and lecture participation as well as to explore metrics for gauging diagnostic performance and pattern recognition in image-based curricula both within the classroom and in remote teaching formats.”

(Source: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and Medical Life Sciences News.)

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Advantages of Renting a CT Scanner (Instead of Buying One)

Advantages of Renting a CT Scanner | Catalina Imaging

For most people, buying a CT scanner has never crossed their minds. It is not an everyday tool casually used, like a coffee machine or a waffle maker. It is a highly sophisticated device that requires the expertise of the person who will operate it, and specific, controlled environments.

However, in very particular instances, having a CT scanner around is a smart choice. Smaller hospitals, clinics, and imaging centers need this machine to provide better and more comprehensive services.

CT or CA Computerized Tomography scan utilizes X-rays to produce detailed images of the inside of the body. It is operated by licensed radiographers. A CT scan is used to provide a comprehensive examination of the body’s internal organs.

It is especially helpful in determining damage to bones and internal organs, blood flow issues, and tumors. For years, it has been a crucial tool in diagnosing critical illnesses in patients.

Not a lot of people understand, however, the financial burden brought about by these massive pieces of machinery. Before, it is unthinkable for smaller healthcare companies to put up CT scan imaging procedures, but with the presence of rental companies, this is now possible.

There are many advantages to renting a mobile CT scanner. Let us have a rundown.

1. Minimal investment

As mentioned previously, purchasing a CT scanner is a significant financial burden. To smaller health institutions, the cost of investment will not be outweighed by the return. For instance, a local clinic that caters to a community of 100 families will have a hard time earning back the money invested on the scanner.

By renting a CT scanner, you share this financial responsibility with others. You get the benefits of having a scanner without having to pay the full amount for each. Through a rental scheme, you are not obligated to spend much more than what you need. If you only need to provide the imaging service for a specific period of time, you may do so by renting a CT scanner for a determined time frame.

2. Mobility

A mobile CT scanner is better than a traditional one in a lot of ways. The first and most apparent reason is its mobility. Conventional machines are bulky and usually attached to a permanent location. They are heavy machines that require a lot of manpower to move and transport.

A mobile CT scanner gives you ease in transportation while providing the same quality imaging procedure. It is quite literally the same machine on wheels. The computer tomography system is housed in a trailer on wheels that allows for its mobility. Mobile CT scanner can be in one local clinic today, then in a small hospital the next day. Its mobility allows more people to benefit from this medical advancement.

3. Easier installation

It is relatively easier to set up a mobile scanner. Upon the arrival of the machine, it is placed in a secure area and plugged in. After use, it can be simply unplugged and move into a location by technicians.

4. Testing

Testing CT scans before use is part of the standard operating procedure. However, testing once or twice does not guarantee a problem-free machine. With a rental CT scanner, it will not be the same case. Since the scanner is rented out to different entities, it undergoes actual use. It is tested in real-case scenarios, which proves efficacy and performance.

5. Lower maintenance cost

Because you can return the scanner once you are done using it or once your rental expires, the maintenance cost is almost non-existent. There is no need for the medical institution or the clinic to set up a particular imaging room and maintain it. Quality assurance staff and maintenance technicians need not be hired.

6. Better patient care

Aside from these benefits, having a CT scanner also improves the quality of medical care you can provide to your patients. With the presence of a CT scanner, you provide a higher degree of care and more accurate diagnoses. There is no need to refer your patients to other hospitals that offer the service.

A Final Word on The Advantages of Renting a Mobile CT Scanner

Renting makes it possible for smaller institutions and local clinics to compete with those far bigger than them.

In this day and age, nothing is more paramount than the preservation of life and health. With the advancement in medical technology, it becomes easier to detect and cure diseases. For any medical care provider, it is a priority to have the best machinery as much as possible.

If you think having a CT scanner is the right move for you, don’t hesitate to call us at (844) 949-1664. We will gladly assist you and answer your questions about our rental service.

Catalina Imaging uses the best scanners available from GE, Toshiba, and Siemens. We are committed to providing quality service to medical care providers by ensuring the efficiency of our state-of-the-art machines at all times. Call us today to learn more.