The maze of C-Arm buying is daunting. Finding the perfect balance between price and performance can make your mind spin.

Around one corner there’s a wide price range for refurbished equipment, costing anywhere from $10,000 to $120,000. The price of new equipment is often higher than $200,000.

Around another corner, there’s the clinical need for high-tech imaging systems, supporting your clinical and surgical procedures with advanced, easy-to-use performance.

In this guide, we’ll help you uncover vital details about C-Arms and answer some common C-Arm purchasing questions. Contact us to talk with an expert today.

The Providian Way for Refurbishing C-Arms

When diving into the refurbished C-Arm market, many buyers are looking for assurance. They want reliable equipment that looks new and performs to the Original Equipment Manufacturer’s specifications.

Pulling back the curtain on our refurbishing process, we’ve detailed the steps we take to provide you with excellent equipment and confidence.

Where Do Providian’s Refurbished C-Arms Come From?

You wouldn’t pay thousands of dollars for the contents of a dark closet. When buying a refurbished C-Arm, knowing its origins and prior history can make a substantial impact on how you feel about a machine.

Providian Medical acquires C-Arms from a number of different sources, including:

No matter where we get the C-Arm, however, we always perform an in-depth investigation and analysis to gain invaluable insight regarding the system’s true functional or cosmetic condition.

Before Refurbishing Begins

In order to get you the best equipment possible, we thoroughly evaluate every system for its ability to be refurbished. In some cases, we find C-Arms suitable for refurbishing, while other systems are disassembled and used for their functioning parts.

Once we determine whether or not a C-Arm is sellable, we take every precaution to make sure that the system will operate for many years to come.

Step 1: Complete Diagnostic Functional Assessment

Using On-Board diagnostics and our own rigorous testing measures, we evaluate every C-Arm for potential failure points, failing parts, circuit boards, or components. Following the evaluation, all potential failure points and failing parts are repaired or replaced.

Step 2: Full Preventative Maintenance and Internal Refurbishing

To start the full internal refurbishing and preventative maintenance step, we first remove the panels and inspect all internal components.

Circuit Boards, power supplies, fans and other such items are removed, inspected, and cleaned. Since heat is the enemy of all electronic equipment, we diligently clean the system to extend the life of the system. It’s a vital factor when preventing future problems.

Step 3: Cosmetic Refurbishing to Make the C-Arm Look Like New

Cosmetic refurbishing isn’t just a way to make the system look pretty. In fact, we’ve found that a “looks-like-new” C-Arm increases patient confidence and extends the C-Arms life. A dated or poorly treated C-Arm is sure to make any patient squirmish.

To boost the cosmetic qualities of your refurbished C-Arm, we remove the panels, sand them, and then paint the panels in our painting booth specially designed for large equipment.

In the final step, we match the paint to the original OEM colors to ensure continuity and to make the machine look like new.

Step 4: Reassembly, Staging, and Final Diagnostic Tests

After the paint dries and all the components are fully cleaned and replaced, we then reassemble the system and perform a series of final tests.

If the tests go smoothly and no unexpected issues arise, we then inspect everything a final time to ensure that the C-Arm will look and perform like new when you receive it.

Step 5: Packaging and Specially Tailored Delivery Service for a Safe and Delicate Transport

C-Arm refurbishing is a serious business, but what ties it all together is our tightly scrutinized packaging and delivery services. Not only do we ship a C-Arm to your doorstep, but we also use leading shipping methods to fully protect the system on the way.

This means that we take extra precaution to make sure that your C-Arm isn’t physically damaged (or even scratched) during delivery. Packaging is tailored to the delivery method, offering more than sufficient protection for your purchase.

We have a number of flexible delivery options for your refurbished C-Arm. We tailor the delivery to your needs whether it’s a van delivery, FedEx, or use of a specialized “white-glove” carrier.

Choosing a Refurbished C-Arm for Your Clinical Needs

When looking for the ideal C-Arm, the first step is to match clinical needs with the different types of C-Arms available. In other words, narrowing procedural uses can also help narrow your selection.

Generally, some of the most important components to consider when shopping for a C-Arm include:

Intended Uses

Image resolution varies among different C-Arms, but keep in mind that not all procedures require the highest resolution. For instance, you may need the higher resolution models when doing real-time, intraoperative imaging, such as for:

Standard C-Arms, which don’t have the high-resolution technologies found in more advanced models, will often be ideal in the operating room (OR) when visualizing things like kidney drainage, gastroenterology, orthopedics, pain management, and neurology procedures, among others.

Image Intensifier

When it comes to the C-Arm’s detectors, you can find two different types, including the digital flat-panel detector and the analog image intensifier.

Generally, you can find 9-inch and 12-inch analog image intensifiers. The larger size significantly expands your field of view and anatomy visualization. At the same time bigger isn’t always better — the smaller, 9-inch intensifiers can provide a greater degree of magnification and clarity.

So, how do you know if you need a bigger field of view with the 12-inch intensifier, or greater magnification with the 9-inch intensifier? A general guideline to follow is that the 9-inch intensifier is typically used for:

The 12-inch intensifiers, with a greater field of view, allow for applications such as:

C-Arm Penetration Power

Another important consideration when shopping for a C-Arm is penetration power and generator strength. For instance, when using a C-Arm for orthopedics or pain management, you may need higher penetration power for lateral abdomen or spinal imaging. You’ll produce clearer, less grainy images, especially when imaging obese patients and navigating dense anatomy.

For instance, let’s take a look at two popular models — the GE OEC 9800 includes a 15kW generator, and it has deeper penetration capabilities than the Philips BV Pulsera, which has a 7.5kW generator.

C-Arm Features for Better, More Confident Imaging

In addition to the image intensifier and the C-Arm penetration power, some important C-Arm features to consider include:

Refurbished C-Arm Prices & Maintenance Costs

When shopping for a C-Arm, the price of the equipment and its operating costs are critical factors. But when considering costs, it can help to balance the C-Arm’s price with its functionality and age.

Generally, the main factors affecting C-Arm price include:

As a result, if you’re looking for older models with a relatively low number of features, you can generally expect a lower price. Feature-rich models, such as the GE OEC 9900 Elite C-Arm, will be priced on the higher end of the scale.

In addition to the C-Arm system price, you should also consider the costs for accessories and maintenance costs. Many systems come with an onboard option bundle, but you may also need to budget for:

Comparing C-Arm Brands

Now that you know some of the basics in C-Arm purchasing, it can help to look at a couple of the leading C-Arm systems.

GE OEC 9800 Plus

Used in healthcare centers around the world, the GE OEC 9800 Plus C-Arm is the classic mobile C-Arm with a reputation for superb image quality, long-term performance, and reliability. It brings extended usage with its rotating anode that reduces overheating, patented buffer technology, and a familiar interface to your imaging and surgical needs, including:

Other principal benefits of the OEC 9800 Plus C-Arm include:

With its intuitive touchscreen interface, the GE OEC 9800 Plus C-Arm simplifies operation and allows for quick and easy imaging for greater efficiency.

GE OEC 9900 Elite

With all the exceptional features associated with GE’s OEC C-arms, the GE OEC 9900 Elite C-Arm remains a leader in surgical imaging and is ideal for the ER and the OR.

Some of the main benefits of this advanced C-Arm include:

The GE OEC 9900 Elite C-Arm provides several imaging profiles to optimize your image and it is available in configurations specific to different fields of practice.

GE OEC 9600

The GE OEC 9600 is one of the most popular C-Arms on the market, and it is capable of performing different roles in multiple environments. With a 4.0 kW generator and a rotating anode x-ray tube, the OEC 9600 can run continuously during fluoroscopy while quickly dissipating heat.

As a result, the GE OEC 9600 is ideal for a wide range of surgical procedures, as well as:

The GE OEC 9600 also processes images digitally and has motion artifact reduction, real-time histogram generation, and real-time subtraction.

Philips BV Pulsera

The Philips BV Pulsera is “pulsing” in power, innovation, and flexibility, capable of taking your diagnostic imaging capabilities to new levels.

Featuring a choice of 9-inch or 12-inch image intensifiers, combined with pulsed acquisition at up to 30 pulses per second and 3D imaging with no blurring, the BV Pulsera offers extensive penetration power. As a result, it is ideal for supporting a variety of challenging interventions, including:

The BV Pulsera also features BodySmart software, a Mobile View Station, a touchscreen interface, and more.

Philips BV Libra

The Philips BV Libra offers one of the best price/performance ratios among comparable C-Arms. In terms of imaging and ease-of-use, the BV Libra features its “humanware” design, which means that the C-Arm includes handles and contours that were designed for efficient and ergonomic use. DoseWise reduces radiation exposure, and with single button control, capturing clear and detailed images is easy and efficient.

Other C-Arm imaging technologies in this system include:

In terms of power, the highly efficient x-ray components in this C-Arm allow you to enhance your visualization capabilities.

Call Providian Medical for C-Arm Purchasing Help

Finding the right C-Arm is vital when developing or emboldening your diagnostic imaging and real-time surgical imaging.

We at Providian understand that shopping for a C-Arm can be a daunting process. For expert guidance when choosing an optimal C-Arm, contact us.