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2 Daily Tips For Keeping Your Procedure Room's C-Arm Maintained

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If your medical office uses a C-arm to take live x-rays during procedures, you may wonder what you can do to extend the life of this vital piece of medical equipment. If so, use the tips below for keeping your procedure room's C-arm maintained on a daily basis.

Use Drapes and Covers During Procedures

Whenever your office performs simple procedures, you may feel that it is not necessary to protect the machine from splatter, as the risk is usually minimal. However, even small drops of contrast, medicine or blood could wreak havoc on the equipment's x-ray tube.

Even if one drop of fluid splashes on the C-arm and makes its way inside, it can stick on the tube. As these drops buildup, two things can happen. First, your images may start appearing fuzzy because of the accumulated drops of the light. These fuzzy images would then give you an inaccurate picture of what is going on with your patient.

Second, the film on the tube may eventually either shatter the glass or burn out the light. Either of these scenarios would require a repair call to have the tube replaced.

To keep splatter from contaminating the tube, use fresh covers and drapes over the arm. These will shield the machine, as well as create a more sanitary environment for your patients and staff.

Dust the Machine and Monitor at the End of the Day

Fluid splatters are not the only thing that can penetrate into your C-arm machine and cause problems. Dust can also accumulate and settle into the cracks and openings, where it could gum up the internal workings or short out the electrical system. Depending on how much dust gets inside, it could also settle on the tube and burn it out.

To keep the accumulation of dust to a minimum, make it a point to wipe down the machine every day before you leave. Also, do not forget to also dust the back of the monitor. Since the back casing has large slots, dust can easily settle inside and short out the electrical components.

Using the above tips can help extend the life of your C-arm and cut down on repairs that would interfere with your ability to care for your patients. As part of your maintenance efforts, contact your medical equipment maintenance supplier to set up a preventative maintenance schedule to have your C-arm calibrated and checked on a regular basis.


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