20 Sept 2022
This Insight feature discusses the latest trends when it comes to buying diagnostic imaging equipment.
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The past decade has seen a very large shift in the way the veterinary industry uses imaging equipment – we’ve all become accustomed to all sites having digital x-ray (computed radiography or digital radiography) and ultrasound, with more and more sites having the potential to carry out high-level scans using colour and Doppler techniques both in abdominal and cardiac applications.
As a company, we are seeing a shift in buying patterns, with more first-opinion surgeries looking to expand their functionality and investing in more sophisticated equipment as the skill base of staff increases. Ultrasound is a prime example, where we are seeing far fewer sales of budget or entry-level scanners, but a huge increase in sales of higher-end scanners, which would have ordinarily been the preserve of referral sites.
CT scanners have also played a big part in the veterinary industry, with far more sites now having surgery-installed equipment, as well as CT pod-type installations. Who would have thought 20 years ago that many first-opinion surgeries would have the ability to carry out CT studies on their own equipment?
But what’s next for the smaller vet referral centres and vet hospitals? Probo Mexfdical has recently seen quite an increase in interest from vets in high-field MRI systems – in many cases to complement the CT scanner they already have on site. Historically, many vet sites looking at MRI have opted for low-field MRI, which can provide a lower-cost entry point into MRI and has the advantage of being physically smaller than high-field solutions, allowing it to fit into centres where space is restricted.
Typically, the low-field systems operate with 0.2 tesla (T) to 0.4T magnets, while high-field systems for the vet market (and, indeed, a lot of the medical market) are 1.5T systems (although many 3T options are available). The benefits of the 1.5T scanner are that you can get more anatomical coverage, better image quality (improved signal to noise, contrast and spatial resolution), thinner slices and faster scans.
While a new low-field system will undoubtedly provide advantages in cost and space over a new 1.5T high-field system, plus lower running costs through not requiring a helium cooling system, ultimately, they don’t offer the same high detail and resolution that the high-field systems can offer to allow the best opportunity for an accurate diagnosis.
Comparing new low-field against high-field MRI will inevitably lead to a decision being made with a keen eye on the value against image quality with the resultant compromises. However, what if another option existed?
Short-term and long-term rentals have long been popular in the medical markets, and we are seeing this starting to be mirrored in the vet market, too. Probo Medical has started to rent some of its mobile fleet of high-field MRI systems to referral vet sites and vet hospitals, allowing them to have MRI on site seven days a week without the large financial investment normally associated with such an imaging modality.
Providing the site has space for a relocatable unit or MRI trailer in its car park and the required power, rentals work incredibly well, allowing the site to have the highest-quality imaging and start making money from week one, but other advantages to rentals exist:
Probo Medical offers various types of high-field MRI rental solutions. As mentioned, they offer trailer and relocatable building solutions. Trailers are by far the simplest and ideally suited for shorter-term rentals, allowing the site to “dip a toe” and see if this type of service works for them.
Trailers are literally just that – a trailer that is left on site and access is usually via a lift and steps on the side. Think mobile service and you’ll know the sort of thing. The relocatable solutions are typically slightly wider, “ground-level” buildings that have their own advantages in bringing patients into the building on trolleys. These systems are delivered by the trailer and are then lowered to the ground on hydraulic legs.
These relocatable buildings are ideal for mid-term to long-term rentals. For those looking for 24 months-plus rentals, Probo Medical also has the option for the latest new-build relocatables built to the site specification. These are usually wider still and offer more working space within.
Rental solutions can be specified with full MRI-compliant patient monitoring systems, which can be taken from prep rooms all the way into the MRI room and contrast injectors if required.
Probo Medical is happy to discuss rental options and usually has a relocatable or trailer solution at its Gloucester facility being made ready for delivery – a viewing of which can be arranged. For those who would rather make an investment in MRI and like a high-field solution, they also have options for the purchase of mobile units.
It’s not just MRI solutions that Probo Medical offer the vet market – they also supply a full range of high-specification imaging equipment, offering excellent image quality with value for money, including:
If you would like to discuss the future of the imaging equipment within your veterinary practice, or you need support with a current project, please telephone Probo Vet on 01452 729380 or email [email protected]
