In 2007, I contacted Naomi, a manufacturer of
digital imaging systems. I thought that their
price was too high. After talking to them, they
came out with a podiatry "lite" version. We don't
need as powerful sensors to get a good foot and
ankle image. I even used their software to
lecture at the Midwest conference in Chicago.
Both Drs. Meisler and Brody make some good
points, but not all were factual. For the most
part, both CR and DR systems have the ability to
produce excellent images for podiatry. Any x-ray
machine can be used. Mine is a 30 years old wall-
mounted Universal unit. There is no real need to
buy a new x-ray unit. I have compared both
technologies and have seen some CR produce better
images than DR and vice versa. There is wear and
tear with both units, as CR has moving parts and
plates can go bad. Naomi's website states that
the ccd sensors last about 5 years or 50,000 x-
rays and the scintillator (think big plate) lasts
10 years. Both can be damaged by drops,
condensation, impact etc. I also talked to
someone at Naomi to confirm this.
Both systems take and can produce the images fast
compared to an automatic processor. By the time I
get back into the treatment room, the images are
on the room monitor. It really does not make a
difference if that takes 30 seconds or 2 minutes.
Both will increase your office efficiency. Both
can be linked to your EMR.
Both these systems do about the same job as data
basing the images, being able to email images,
burn to a CD, using Dicom, if needed, etc.
Interesting enough, any company's software can be
used with most other companies systems. Ie: You
can use Sigma digital x-ray software with someone
else's system.
I think it really comes down to price/benefit. I
like the $60,000-1000,000 DR systems by Fuji and
others but really can't afford them. I chose a CR
system after weighing all of this information 5
years ago. You have to look and compare the
images for yourself to see what the benefit is to
you.
Larry Kosova, DPM, Chicago, IL, lkosova@yahoo.com
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