Prolonging the Life of Your Nuclear Medicine Equipment

Despite the notion that OEM’s are consistently decreasing the life cycle of their machines, hospitals and other health care facilities are steadily trying to prolong the life of their equipment. So, how do you keep your nuclear medicine equipment operating as long as possible? The same way you prolong the life cycle of any machine, preventative maintenance. Here is a list of basic tips that will help you to extend the reliability and effectiveness of your gamma camera.

• Preventative Maintenance! : Make sure you are strictly adhering to the PM schedule and specifications laid forth by the OEM.  Typically, regular checkups are suggested every 6 months but each OEM is different. Be sure to check your manual or brochure.
• Give yourself options: Since OEM’s are constantly phasing out equipment, you will need to have options to find the parts and expertise needed in order to maintain your machine.  Be sure to research and network with accredited independent service organizations.  Third party ISO companies provide excellent service opportunities that should definitely be considered. Typically, independent service organizations will offer parts and service at a more cost-effective rate than OEM’s, and on the whole seem to have a move personal approach to their business.
• Don’t forget to backup: When purchasing equipment make sure to ask for all of the software backups you will need.  However, if you do not get all necessary backups at the time of purchase, many independent service organizations can provide it for you.
• Ask for credentials: Double check to be sure that the engineer you are using for service has the correct credentials needed to complete the job. Some suggestions are to ask how many years of experience they have, are they experienced on multiple machines and what is their typical full cycle repair time.

As always, DO YOUR RESEARCH!  It is always the best policy to make an educated decision when purchasing new, used, or refurbished equipment. 

Need support & service on your nuclear medicine equipment? Check out Intermed which offers reconditioned equipment, parts, service and training courses for your service engineers!