EBME Forums Forums Maintenance Spare Parts X-Ray Tubes

I said 'x-ray engineer' ... not 'idiot'!

If anyone has more doubts about all this, try Googling medical x-ray tube manufacturers (or something similar) and take it from there.

See also Dunlee.

Geoff, we both know there are idiots out there! as well as technicians and engineers, we have both come across quite a few.

Only a few? More like 60% I would say! Ha, ha.

What's that saying:-

If you can't run with the big dogs, best stay under the porch!

That certainly applies to (working on) x-ray equipment, in my experience!

A lot of the x-ray engineers I worked with became 'loopy' in their thirties, wonder if that was due to over exposure

Over-exposure to sid perhaps.

I think that sid bloke has a lot to answer for!

One would think there should be an international vetting standard for fitting 3rd party kit...

If it says manufactured in China then every process till final product happens in China and if it says "made in China" it means it's only assembled there.

You'd be surprised where your OEM X-Ray tubes come from...

The same goes for our friends in Endoscopy. 2 companies buys from the exact same manufacturer where Company A receives complete assembled units via an assembly plant in Germany claiming "made in Germany" and Company B cannot make the statement because they only use the parts for repairs of Company A's products.

Company A is aware of this and use it to it's advantage by stating to the public that company B is fitting non EU and non CE marked parts....

It smells, but hey. That's business.

Fit whatever tube you like but let it go through a vetting process first in accordance with BS EN ISO standards and make sure the engineer is adequately qualified to perform the procedure. That's about as big a requirement as the law demands and should see you safely through.

Jandres right

The first tube I replaced on a Shimadzu CT was a Varian - fitted into the unit from new, Our Siemens Skull unit had a Comet Tube, many more examples

We represent Dunlee in the UK so replacement tubes or intensifiers etc for most equipment is not an issue, Elscint, GE, Picker/Marconi through to Toshiba, all in accordance with BS EN ISO standards as Jandre states, and with the world becoming smaller with access to remote diagnostics and technical training, manuals and spares, qualified engineers are less of an issue these days.

What is a difficult issue though is perception - changing it is a real problem - not so much in the private sector but the NHS, the manufacturers can exert a huge influence, it was taking some time and a great deal of effort to change hearts and minds.

I think we will follow large parts of the globe, looking at support for units over a certain age, where we can, I think we should, a big difference can be made.

Geoffs right also but if you can provide a equal or better solution together with those using the equipment, out from under the porch is not such a bad place to be.

Darren

Not in my experience! There is a distinct lack of knowledgeable engineers these days, particularly with in depth x-ray equipment. Even amongst the big players in the market the experience of the engineers is not what it once was.

There are few who are suitably qualified and knowledgeable enough to be able to procure an exact replacement that is as good as the original. Even if they obtain an exact replacement the installation and setting up can be an issue. I have seen some tubes fitted physically and left without any setting up of the filament currents being performed!

There may be some using this site who can and are able to perform the work correctly and safely but there are many who will read this and assume there is no big deal in obtaining a 3rd party replacement.

Again those selling 3rd party replacements have an agenda of their own to sell more goods so will 'talk up' the benefits of their products and services and quote the 'high' prices of the OEM. Therefore a more moderate approach to both sides should be taken before a decision is made to purchase 3rd party or OEM products and services.

Hi Mike

I reckon your suggested approach is just about right.

Theres a lot of wisdom in your words

Our experiences differ, thats all, I tend to think the technical and procurment expertise exists on this forum and others like it, certainly for tube selection.

The technical challenges faced now differ from those of the past, the first CT in the North I had the pleasure of, we installed over three different floors in Newcastle RVI - a real monster

Ii would say some significant challenges faced with early generation equipment have to some extent been designed out - with less tube manufactures worldwide - it is common to see most multi vendor CTs etc in use now at manufacturing facilities - issues faced obtaining training, access to expertise etc are certainly becoming less of an issue

Darren