Reasons You Should Upgrade Your Portable Ultrasound Machine
Portable ultrasound machines represent a significant investment for hospitals and healthcare clinics, so it’s understandable that most facilities want to maximize the lifespan of this equipment. If you’re wondering whether replacing your ultrasound machine is the right choice or if you can get a few more years of use out of it, we’ve provided some guidelines on when to opt for replacement below.
Sonographer applying gel to a transducer for a diagnostic ultrasound examination.
Your Portable Ultrasound Machine Is Outdated
Ultrasound machines have a lower life expectancy than other medical imaging equipment. The Canadian Association of Radiologists’ life expectancy guidelines for ultrasound equipment are 7 years in a high-use setting, 8 years in a mid-use setting, and 9 years in a low-use setting. When portable ultrasound machines exceed these lifespans, it leads to:
- Decrease in image quality
- Higher risk of failure or breakdown, delaying diagnosis and frustrating patients
- Higher operating and maintenance costs
- Equipment is no longer state-of-the-art
It’s important to address that last point—technology advances quickly in diagnostics and your patients should know that they’re getting the highest quality imaging available when they visit your hospital or clinic. When you can’t say that your equipment is the most current and accurate available, it reflects poorly upon your practice and it can impact employee morale among sonographers and clinicians. The latest portable ultrasound machines also have better safeguards in place for patient privacy and enable seamless collaboration between multiple providers.
Philips CX-50 Advanced Ultrasound
Your Needs Have Changed
COVID-19 has certainly changed how many hospitals and clinics are using handheld portable ultrasound machines—now, lung imaging may be important for your clinicians when prior to the pandemic, it was a low priority. Perhaps you’re purchasing for a large clinic that shares equipment or a new practice area was just added. Whatever the reason, if your needs have changed, your portable ultrasound equipment should evolve with them. While today’s portable ultrasound machines are highly versatile, it’s important to ensure that the equipment you use was designed for your diagnostic needs.
If your needs have changed but you don’t have the budget for a brand new handheld portable ultrasound machine, consider a high quality refurbished ultrasound from Universal Diagnostic Solutions. Our OEM-trained technicians restore portable ultrasounds to their original condition, ensuring reliability and accuracy.
Your Equipment Fails Quality Control
The American College of Radiology and American Association of Physicists in Medicine have outlined technical standards for monitoring the performance of ultrasound equipment. While equipment repair is needed for most portable ultrasound machines at some point in their lifespans, if you have a machine that is routinely failing quality control testing or that continues to fail QC even after being repaired, it’s a good reason to order a replacement.
When you do purchase a new portable ultrasound, it’s important to run a quality control test before you begin to use it, which helps your team establish a baseline for future comparison.
Portable Ultrasound Solutions from Universal Diagnostic Solutions
Why use UDS? We’re portable ultrasound machine experts. We’re not just here to sell your hospital or clinic an ultrasound—we’re here to help you find the right ultrasound for your needs. Contact us today to learn more about our services.