UK Military medical teams on the frontline are set to receive a boost to their life-saving medical equipment with the introduction of new mobile digital X-ray systems from Xograph Healthcare.
Three Ziehm Solo mobile C-Arms, four DRagon light mobile direct digital radiography systems and seven MobileDaRt Evolution motorised mobile direct digital radiography systems have recently been purchased by the Ministry of Defence following a contract award to Gloucestershire based company Xograph Healthcare Limited. This will mean quicker diagnosis for British military personnel injured in the line of duty both on land and at sea.
Three types of system were purchased offering a combination of capabilities:
• The Solo mobile C-Arm system provides real time X-ray image display for preliminary screening of casualties and in the operating theatre to assist surgeons during interventional procedures (limb alignment, location of shrapnel and foreign bodies).
• The DRagon light mobile direct digital radiography system is extremely compact and versatile and can be moved into a variety of locations usually inaccessible to conventional X-ray units.
• The MobileDaRt Evolution motorised mobile direct digital radiography system will become the backbone of the imaging workload in a static environment such as a military hospital or medical centre.
Squadron Leader Martin Coleman, Lead Radiographer at the Centre for Defence Imaging, Defence, Equipment and Support, said: “We are constantly looking at ways to improve the equipment supplied to our medical teams on the frontline and the acquisition of this fleet of direct-digital mobile X-ray equipment will further improve the capability of the Defence Medical Services to deal with the sick and injured on deployed operations.
During major trauma, where rapid clinical intervention becomes the key component with regard to saving life and limb, the ability to provide diagnostic images within seconds plays a vital role and this is what these machines deliver. They will allow us to provide this rapid imaging wherever we require it, be that in a tent, in a custom-built hospital or in a surgical facility onboard ship.”
Each system will have the ability to produce an image of a casualty almost instantaneously and will also have the ability to transmit images using secure wireless LAN technology. This will avoid the use of trailing cables around patient trolleys and enable clinicians to view images anywhere within the medical facility.
Peter Staff Managing Director of Xograph Healthcare, which is headquartered in Tetbury, England and has offices in Stirling, Scotland and Dublin, Ireland, said: “I am delighted that Xograph Healthcare has been awarded this prestigious contract in the face of stiff competition from global players.”
This 7 year contract will help safeguard jobs at the facility in Tetbury and assist with the further development of specialised mobile x-ray solutions.