New injector technology for CT, MRI and Angiography systems helps reduce dose and automatically records contrast used for the patient record.
Recently, more and more hospitals successfully cut costs by using contrast injectors designed with advanced technology in reducing contrast waste and automated data collection for the dose a patient receives.
First of all, let’s take several minutes to learn about contrast media.
What is contrast media?
Contrast media is a substance injected into the body to enhance the differences between body tissues on images. The ideal contrast medium should achieve very high concentration in the tissues without producing any adverse effects.
Types of Contrast Media
Iodine, a mineral extracted primarily from soil, rock and brine, is commonly used in contrast media for both CT and X-ray imaging. Lodinated contrast media are the most commonly used agents, with CT requiring the largest overall quantities. All currently used computed tomography (CT) contrast agents are based on the triiodinated benzene ring. Whereas the iodine atom is responsible for the radiopacity of contrast media, the organic carrier is responsible for its other properties, such as osmolality, tonicity, hydrophilicity, and viscosity. The organic carrier is responsible for most of the adverse effects and has received a lot of attention from researchers. Some patients react to small amounts of contrast media, but most of the adverse effects are mediated by the large osmotic load. Thus, over the past few decades researchers have focused on developing contrast media that minimize the osmotic load after contrast agent administration.
What is contrast media injectors?
Contrast injectors are medical devices that are employed for injecting contrast media into the body to enhance the visibility of tissues for medical imaging procedures.(Take the CT double head high pressure injector as an example, see the picture below:)
How the newest technology in high pressure injector help reduce waste of contrast media during injection?
1.Automated Injector Systems
Automated injector systems can precisely control the amount of contrast used, which offers new possibilities for radiology departments looking to streamline and document their contrast media usage. With the technological advancements, the high pressure injectors have evolved from simple manual injectors to automated systems that not only precisely control the amount of the contrast media agent used, but also facilitate automated data collection and personalized doses for each individual patient.
LnkMed has developed specific contrast injectors for intravenous procedures in Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and for intrarterial procedures in cardiac and peripheral intervention. All this four type of injectors allows automatic injection. There are also some other automatic functions designed to simplify the healthcare people’s workflow and enhance safety, such as automatic filling and priming, automatic plunger advance and retract when attaching and detaching syringes. The volume precision can be down to 0.1mL, enables more precise dose of the contrast medium injection.
2. Syringeless Injectors
Syringeless power injectors have emerged as a solution to reduce contrast media waste. This option gives facilities the opportunity to use contrast media as efficiently as possible. In March 2014, Guerbet launched FlowSens, its syringe-free injection system composed of a softbag injector and associated disposables, using a hydraulic, syringe-free injector to deliver contrast media；Bracco’s new “smart” Empower syringless injectors are able to use every drop of contrast loaded into the system for maximum economy. So far, their design has proved that syringeless power injectors were more user-friendly and efficient than the dual-syringe power injector, with more waste per contrast-enhanced CT observed for the latter. The syringeless injector also allowed a cost savings of about $8 per patient when considering the lower cost and improved performance of the devices.
As a supplier, LnkMed makes cost savings for its customers a top priority. We have been committed to designing more efficient, safer and more economical products through technological innovation to save costs for our customers.
Post time: Nov-22-2023
