This report originally appeared in the January 2011 issue of DOTmed Business News

The Philips Healthcare booth at the 2010 annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America displayed quite a lineup of innovations. Among its offerings, the vendor showcased two new MR scanners with digital broadband coils and a PET/MR system - the first new modality in a decade.

But it was a different machine that proved to be the biggest hit at the vendor’s booth. “The number one product for Philips at RSNA in terms of leads was our MobileDiagnost wDR,” says Shawl Lobree, vice president of marketing for the company’s diagnostic X-ray business.

The MobileDiagnost wDR is Philips’ answer to the latest mobile X-ray trends: a portable, digital radiography wireless unit. “I think the idea of a wireless DR portable is such a compelling story for hospitals,” says Lobree. “They see how it’s going to allow them to bring digital radiography into more areas of the hospital, where they can’t go now because of the current tethered solutions.”

Although mobile DR X-ray units have been on the market for some time, the latest systems strive to improve workflow and productivity by not only going wireless, but also shedding the cord. There’s also another potential benefit — infection control.

“As you’re positioning the panel around the patient, especially if you only have one technologist, invariably that cable is going to drag on the floor and pick up dirt and germs and maybe other fluids,” says Lobree.

Sector experts estimate that only somewhere between 10 and 15 percent of the portable X-ray market has crossed over to DR so far, leaving lots of room for expansion. “We have reports that show that it’s still very low penetration and very high growth rate,” says Lobree. “Of all of the segments that we track in diagnostic radiology, the one with the highest growth is digital mobile radiography – with somewhere between 10 and 12 percent.”

A look at what’s new
For its DigitalDiagnost wDR, Philips used its highly successful wireless detector from its premium DR product (the company recently shipped its 4,000th unit). “We took that capability, that technology and we boiled it down and miniaturized it so it would fit in a mobile, battery-powered, motor-driven radiography system,” says Lobree.

Philips took the high-end approach to the system, explains Lobree, by incorporating the same protocol management, DICOM connectivity and user interface capabilities into the unit as its premium DR system. The unit uses two separate batteries – one to drive the motor and one to drive the 40kV generator.

More Industry Headlines