KLAS: Wireless DR is here to stay
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For the report, the company interviewed nearly 200 healthcare providers about the digital radiography (DR) solutions from nine vendors. Among several findings, the report highlights the “development and steady adoption” of wireless x-ray detectors.
Carestream Health and Siemens Healthcare were the early leaders in this arena, though the vendors have taken different approaches to implementing the technology, according to KLAS.
“The Carestream DRX-1 wireless detector has created a lot of buzz in the industry because it is the only wireless option that allows providers to retrofit existing analog equipment,” said report author Kirk Ising, KLAS research director. “Customers expect big cost savings from preserving their still-functional analog x-ray equipment without substantial changes to their hardware. That’s an attractive option in a sluggish economy.”
For its part, Siemens has a handful of clients using the Ysio wireless DR system, according to the firm. “The Ysio is a radiography room and thus carries a full-system price tag. However, initial client feedback is very positive, suggesting that image quality is excellent with the wireless detector, though image acquisition times are a little slower than a fixed plate,” the authors wrote.
The report also noted that economic pressures are opening doors for less-expensive, radiography-specific vendors.
The top-rated DR solution in the report was Shimadzu Medical Systems’ RADspeed, with a performance score of 92.8 out of 100. It was followed by Siemens’ Multix M (90.6) and Fujifilm Medical Systems’ SpeedSuite (89.1).
“GE [Healthcare], Philips [Healthcare] and Siemens are generally considered the makers of more advanced, more expensive digital x-ray equipment,” Ising said. “However, several digital x-ray offerings are targeted at providers looking for reliable equipment at an economical cost.”
According to the report, Carestream, Fujifilm and Shimadzu market “lower-priced, yet functionally solid solutions for this type of buyer.” Carestream clients extol the quality of the vendor’s DR equipment, especially for image quality and reliability, based on the responses from the healthcare providers. Fujifilm’s digital x-ray line shares a common interface with its computed radiography (CR) product group, which was described as “easy to navigate” by respondents. And Shimadzu has a “growing reputation for reliability, advancing functionality and excellent field service,” according to KLAS.