Barnsley Hospital recently purchased a replacement X-ray system with mixed vascular and cardiac capabilities that will allow the Hospital to expand the services offered. The new Toshiba Infinix VC-i versatile dual-track, ceiling mounted C-arm ensures head-to-toe and fingertip-to-fingertip coverage, setting a new standard for patient access. Direct right-left coverage enables a convenient radial approach and easy imaging of off-centre anatomy. It comes equipped with Sequential Navigation to allow physicians to "navigate" quickly through an exam (e.g. coronary, carotid, renal or runoff) and it executes the preferred angles projections and acquisition parameters from memory. One touch of the button is all it takes to navigate through the routine settings for each exam type. In addition, operators have the freedom to change any parameter throughout the procedure without disrupting Sequential Navigation.

Dave Houghton, Radiology Services Manager says, "As a medium-sized District General Hospital, we were looking for a highly versatile C-arm unit that would meet the needs of our expanding interventional radiology whilst at the same time being able to deliver our diagnostic coronary angiography service. On evaluation, our team decided that the Toshiba equipment was more than able to fulfil this role. We considered the equipment to be well-designed, engineered and easy-to-use for both radiographers and radiologists – hence our decision to select Toshiba."

A hallmark of the Infinix-i range is patient care. For instance, the dose-reduction technology, already tried and tested on the Infinix-i range, includes variable digital pulsed fluoro, one shot image capture, fluoroscopic image memory, virtual collimation and variable dose modes. In addition, the systems come equipped with digital electronic zoom and QCA/QVA (using fluoro image) and dose monitoring. Radiation Protection Devices coupled with advanced ergonomic efficiency and prevision and sequential navigation all add up to an impressive array of innovations designed to deliver high quality imaging at the lowest possible dose.

Other features contributing towards patient comfort and safety include the ergonomic design of the systems, providing unprecedented freedom for clinicians and their teams to work. With easy patient access from every direction, procedures can be carried out without table movements and all types of interventional imaging undertaken with ease, speed and precision. In addition, a patient table with a weight capacity of over 220kg can accommodate larger patients, and a reliable quiet, liquid-metal bearing X-ray tube lowers the ambient noise in the angiography suite, improving the clinician’s ability to communicate effectively with staff and patients, and improving the patient experience.Shown here (left to right) Dave Houghton, Radiology Services Manager, Dr. R. Vijay. Consultant Radiologist, Christopher Midgley, Medical Imaging Technical Assistant, Lorraine Sims, Advanced Practitioner and David Bibbs, Account Executive, North East, Toshiba Medical Systems