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The Importance of X-Ray Equipment Maintenance

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Healthcare facilities that are outstanding at providing unmatchable care and service to their patients stick to a 360-degree approach for excellence. From efficient data flow, experienced professionals to top-class equipment, they do it all to provide the best care possible. It is all because of the investment they make in keeping things in the best way possible at their place.

While talking about maintenance, medical equipment is most expensive part of any medical facility. It requires the highest level of maintenance as it is the one that keeps any medical facility running.

#Fact: You would be astonished to know, “The market of medical equipment maintenance valued at $17.4 billion in 2019. During the 2020–2030 forecast periods, it is expected to grow by a CAGR of 9.4%!

In array of Imaging equipment that requires regular maintenance, X-Ray equipment are the ones that are found at every healthcare facility is. Today, we are going to discuss on the importance of the maintenance of the same.

Top Reasons why X-Ray Equipment Maintenance is Important:

Patient Safety

Safety should always be the topmost priority of any healthcare facility provider to keep their patients safe.

• Poor maintenance of imaging equipment leads to several safety concerns. Technicians and patients could get injured if the equipment fails or breaks.
• Another safety concern is the amount of x-ray energy emitted. If the equipment is not maintained properly, extra harmful radiations can cause long-term uncertain effects on the patient’s body. It is because the human body can only sustain a limited amount of radiation. If a human body is projected to more of it, it can cause serious health problems.
• X-ray equipment must be in ideal working conditions so that they can produce the highest quality images. It is because even small damage in the image receptor system such as cracks, smudges, or dust particles can alter the results of the X-ray image. It can further lead to misdiagnosis and can affect patient treatment.

Efficient Business

• Every hospital and healthcare provider has a limited number of x-ray machines available. It may create a long waiting list of patient appointments if the imaging equipment is defective or not in proper working condition. In that case, patient appointments have to be rescheduled which can cause chaos among the patients and can harm business as well.
• Further, if the imaging equipment is not functioning well at any point in time, then its emergency repair service could cost a huge amount to the business.

Precise Calibration

• Calibration of the equipment is important as it increases the life expectancy of the equipment. It is also one of the many things covered during the equipment maintenance process.
• Most of the problems can be dug up earlier and easily fixed if the calibration of the equipment is done at regular intervals. Systematic calibration of the equipment also helps to make sure that the output is accurate, and the dose given to the patient is safe.

Component Care

Batteries, radiographic films, phosphor chassis, and detectors are the most key component of X-ray equipment. It should not be ignored and taken care of for the well-functioning of the medical equipment.

• A broken detector can cause disrupt your workflow. So, make sure that utmost care is taken to reduce the chances of damage to the detector. Detector plastic bags should be used where there are chances of the presence of liquid and chemicals.
• Batteries are another significant component of X-ray equipment. Lithium-ion batteries should be used in detectors. The battery should not be left without charging, and it should be changed regularly to prevent it from getting damaged.
• You can increase the battery life by charging it as per the guidelines by the manufacturer. Also, it should be operated at a specific temperature. It is recommended that you should use the 2-3 batteries and rotate them evenly.
• Radiographic films of the X-ray equipment are extremely sensitive to handle, so they should not be stored for a long interval. Also, you should check the given temperature by the manufacturer for the storage of films.

Stick to the user manual

Make use of the user manual that comes along with the equipment. It has all the technical specifications on how equipment should be operated, kept safely, and others.

Reduce the amount of corrective Maintenance

Technical specifications also help the user with valuable information about the capabilities of the system. This way, the user may not commit any mistakes while operating the equipment.

Optimum environment

Optimum temperature is one of the major factors in operating the X-ray equipment for which you need a good electrical system. It is because electric failures can cause your equipment damage. To take care of this kind of failure, you can reach out to the concerned person for regular maintenance of your electric system.

There should be a circuit breaker in your equipment as it provides continuous supply even when there is a grid failure, but it should be purchased with an authentic manufacturer.

Interior cleaning

A thorough cleaning of the X-ray maintenance increases the durability of your equipment. It is necessary as dust and debris if left inside the equipment can disrupt the cooling, movement of the equipment and affect the quality of X-ray images.

Interior cleaning during the maintenance thus makes sure that it is eradicated from every part and lubricated for a seamless workflow. A regular inspection adds to the life of the X-ray equipment, thus helping your healthcare facility serves the patients for a long time. Tabletop, collimator, and tube should also be wiped thoroughly and lubricated for upgraded efficiency. Thus, interior cleaning is one of the crucial steps one should not miss out on during maintenance.

Conclusion
Thus, proper maintenance is mandatory to keep your equipment running to its highest performance. It will also extend the life of the equipment which in turn will save your money and time that you can utilise at important things.

So, don’t forget to stick to regular maintenance of your X-ray equipment.

Please Contact us for more detail and we will get back to you as soon as possible!