by
Thomas Dworetzky, Contributing Reporter | June 21, 2017
Time and accuracy are essential when assessing war injuries, so getting proper X-rays of wounded warriors as soon as possible is a must.
To address these concerns in the fast-moving modern battle environment, the U.S. Department of Defense is buying over one hundred portable RadPRO1 SOLTUS 100M Mobile Digital X-Ray Systems from Virtual Imaging, a Canon U.S.A. company.
"In the ever-present life-or-death situations of the battlefield, it is vital that medical technicians have the tools that they need to make a diagnosis as soon as possible," Tsuneo Imai, vice president and general manager, Healthcare Solutions Division, Business Imaging Solutions Group, Canon U.S.A., and president, Virtual Imaging, said in a statement. Thanks to its compact footprint, he noted, the new system can be “rapidly transported so that x-rays can be processed when they're needed the most.”
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The systems – known in military parlance as the "portable digital radiography system" (PDRS) – pack up for easy transport and weigh in at about 180 pounds without detector.
They have “short exposure times and fast image acquisition, featuring an intuitive user-friendly touch screen, manual collimator, and Canon CXDI -501G Digital Radiography (DR) System.” In addition, they come with a laptop that is ruggedized to handle “harsh elements experienced in the field.”
The move comes as the DoD was looking to upgrade from other older equipment.
"When we were looking to upgrade our imaging technology, we were looking for a system that would help us respond to emergencies in the field with speed and efficiency," Diego Gomez-Morales, biomedical equipment specialist, U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency (USAMMA) said in a public affairs brief. He advised that the unit met the need for a system that would be easy to transport and "able to provide us with high-quality images with a fast turnaround time.”
Not only is the the system smaller and lighter, it is also less expensive than previous, older ones.
"The change will save the Army about $55,000 per system," said 30-year Army veteran Gomez-Morales, noting that, "it will also reduce shipping weight by about 60 pounds per system and reduce the number of shipping containers from three to one."
The system comes with complete training support, he added. And “all parts are cataloged and sourced,” to aid with future repairs.
"We tend to be 'MacGyvers' in the field," he pointed out, stressing that in addition to parts, there will be extensive documentation to go along with the systems.
