RSTI FocalSpot > 2016.01

OVER 30 YEARS OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING EXCELLENCE // ISSUE 1.16 #THINKRSTI

NEWS FROM THE LEADER IN RADIOLOGICAL SERVICE TRAINING // RADIOLOGICAL SERVICE TRAINING INSTITUTE

CT IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND

NEW DAY 4 #CLE BEYOND PARTS AND THE #RNC POWER UP

FIND THE FULL 2016 RSTI TRAINING COURSE INSERT INSIDE // VISIT RSTI ONLINE @ RSTI-TRAINING.COM THE PRESIDENT’S LENS //2-3

COURSE SCHEDULE // INSERT

NEW! MOBILEDART TRAINING //4

VISIT US AT A SHOW // 9

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT //5

A NOTE FROM RSTI EXCHANGE // 10-11

DAVE’S RAVE //6

OPTIMA 220 // 12

STATE OF OH REG. NO. 93-09-1377T // ©2015 RSTI | DESIGN BY MOSSMEDIA

CT IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND FROM THE LENS OF DALE COVER, RSTI PRESIDENT

RSTI has all the tools you need to put the power of CT maintenance in the palm of your hand. // TRAINING // “Have the technicians been properly and thoroughly trained on our equipment?” This is one major concern for any equipment owner faced with changing service providers. RSTI has training offerings that cover the entire spectrum in CT -- from basic CT programs to indepth hands-on courses on specific systems such as GE, Philips and Toshiba. All of our training offerings are as good as or better than OEM training. That’s not our opinion; our students tell us that.

// SUPPORT //

O

ne of the most challenging – and rewarding – maintenance functions in medical imaging is the management of your computed tomography assets.

Maintaining a service contract is, without a doubt, a costly endeavor. Ditching the contract has political and financial risk. Many department heads get a sense of security from the familiar relationship established during the warranty and initial contract period, and to be certain, changing from OEM service to in-house or independent service can be stressful to the local department users and managers.

As you prepare to move one of the most high-tech, expensive and productive pieces of equipment away from the perceived comfort of an OEM maintenance agreement, how are you going to put the equipment owner at ease? To be successful, simply share your confidence that you have the tools and support systems in place to be prepared for the inevitable concerns the equipment owner will have.

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When you train with RSTI or buy your parts from RSTI Exchange you will also have access to expert technical support that can help you diagnose any problem. That means when you get stuck, you have the best chance of determining exactly which parts are needed. Once the most-likely faulty components have been identified, we can help you find those parts at highly competitive prices. Perhaps as important as the price point is the real peace of mind that comes from knowing when you buy your parts from RSTI Exchange, you know your parts have been fully tested to meet OEM specifications. Our quality assurance processes and procedures ensure that each part functions as required before we ship it. If for any reason you have difficulties installing the new parts you ordered, you can call us for help. We at RSTI want to help for two reasons: 1) it makes you shine in the eyes of your customer; and 2) it helps reduce additional down time due to false DOAs.

// PARTS // From gently used CT tubes and X-Ray generator parts to basic power supplies, we have most CT manufacturers covered. You know all of RSTI Exchange’s parts have

been tested prior to shipping to ensure they meet OEM specifications. But did you know our thorough testing and quality assurance procedures applied in our dedicated test bays not only keep DOA’s exceptionally low, they put us in a very good position to achieve ISO Certification in very little time? It is one thing to say you test your parts, it’s quite another to be able to prove it.

Of course, if you need new parts we can help you find those too…and if we get a discount we will pass the savings along. // SPECIALIZED TOOLS // Having taught thousands of training classes over the years, we have assembled kits that contain many of the tools and fixtures needed to verify and maintain system performance, diagnose failures and perform routine maintenance. An example, a kit for the Philips Brilliance CT family -- one of our featured product lines -- includes jumper/communications kits, PM tools and PM supplies.

// PM SUPPLIES //

// TEST EQUIPMENT AND PHANTOMS //

Consumables like greases and lubricants can cost a fortune, especially when you have to buy them in huge quantities. We have consumables at affordable prices in quantities small enough to use up in less than 100 years.

Aside from having the best, hands-on CT labs available, we also pride ourselves on having test equipment that is current and represents the best of all of the manufacturers. We have spent years building relationships with the test equipment companies just to make sure you can continue to work with the same equipment you already have in your inventory.

// RSTI’S ONLINE STORE // Found at rsti-training.com, our online RSTI Store has a growing collection of resources for various medical imaging systems. For example, the previously mentioned test and PM kits for Philips Brilliance CT. When applicable, these PM kits will include an initial supply of the consumables called for in the OEM instructions.

Should you run out, all you have to do is go back to the online RSTI Store and reorder what you need.

When time and precision are of the essence, that’s when it pays off to have learned equipment service using the same tools you will use on the job…who would train anywhere other than the institute that puts those tools in the palm of your hand?

With the power of RSTI behind you, your customers will be confident in your abilities to meet their service needs, and you should be, too!

Dale Cover P R E S I D E N T, R S T I

WWW.RSTI-TRAINING.COM // CALL 440.349.4700 // 3

NEW! MOBILEDART TRAINING SEE THE PULLOUT COURSE INDEX FOR TRAINING DATES

BY JOE GEARY RSTI Instructor The staff at RSTI currently provides the diagnostic imaging industry with the highest-quality service training in the world. Thriving in this industry for more than 30 years is not accomplished by standing still.

The team at RSTI is continually striving to provide the training our customers require. We are always adding new classes to our training schedule to ensure our students have all the tools they will need to succeed in their careers.

The latest addition to our training schedule, the Shimadzu MobileDaRt, is being added to the MobileArt training course.

This course is designed to provide the service professional with the skills necessary to fully service and maintain this X-ray system. Calibrations, preventive maintenance, and troubleshooting are included. We have developed functional block diagrams to aid in circuit comprehension and fault isolation. We look forward to seeing you in class. The course dates are on our schedule.

RSTI CLASS TAKES ON A RESIDENT MOBILEDART

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PHOTO COURTESY OF DAN MORGAN Š2014

AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT RSTI T

he Republican National Convention is coming to Cleveland Ohio. This is great news for Cleveland that will shine a spotlight on this wonderful north coast community.

It will also bring tens of thousands of visitors and boost the local economy. RSTI is happy that Cleveland will get some much deserved positive attention but there is a downside to such a huge event: Hotel rooms, rental cars and flights will be all but impossible to find. If you can find them they will be prohibitively expensive.

In an effort to save our students and customers time and money, we have rescheduled the classes that would run during the RNC. All classes that occur during the week of July 18th will take place one week earlier. Classes that were scheduled to start July 18th will begin on July 11th, and classes that are scheduled July 11-22 will begin on Wednesday, July 6th and end on Friday, July 15th. We are starting Wednesday so everyone can enjoy the long Independence Day weekend and travel to Cleveland on Tuesday. The classes beginning July 6th will run 9-10 hour days and half a day Saturday so students will have the same number of contact hours as a normal two week class.

As always, we care as much about your stay in Cleveland as we do the quality of your training. See you in July!

– Dale Cover WWW.RSTI-TRAINING.COM // CALL 440.349.4700 // 5

DAVE’S RAVE OEC C-ARMS: ONE WEEK OR TWO WEEKS?

I often get asked whether a student should take the one-week OEC 9900 only course or the two-week OEC 9800/9900 course.

The answer really depends upon the student.

If you have a lot experience with the 9800 or have attended our 9600/9800 class in the past, the oneweek 9900 class should suffice. If you are new to OEC C-arms, I would generally recommend the two-week 9800/9900 class.

Keep in mind that the C-arm portion of both machines is nearly identical; the big differences are in the workstations.

Of course we cover all of the image system alignments and the generator, power supply and dose calibrations, as well as making sure that you understand why you are doing these adjustments in both classes (not to mention tube replacement, II/camera and C-arm removal, diagnostics, software loading and troubleshooting).

However, the one-week class is quite concentrated because we are including as much useful info as possible in a mere 4.5 days.

The two week class allows us to proceed at a slightly more relaxed pace, as well as delve more deeply into the theory behind the operation of the many subsystems within the C-arm and the workstations.

This is ultimately very helpful with troubleshooting for those new to the OEC product line. Hopefully this will help you decide which class is best suited to your needs and experience level.

I look forward to seeing you at RSTI! –

Dave

DON’T FORGET TO EXPLORE OUR 2016 COURSE SCHEDULE INSERT, CONVENIENTLY REDESIGNED AND REFORMATTED AS A LARGER PULLOUT INSERT IN THIS NEWSLETTER! 6 // FOCALSPOT.ISSUE1.16

INTRODUCING THE RSTI STORE ALL NEW!

Presenting the all new RSTI Store, designed exclusively for radiological service professionals. From specialty tools and field service equipment, to jumper kits and RSTI official apparel – you can trust the RSTI Store to carry the gear you need make your job easier. We welcome your suggestions for future products to include in our catalog.

TOP PRODUCTS! // PHILIPS BRILLIANCE CT BYPASS/ JUMPER TROUBLESHOOTING KIT // TEST EQUIPMENT FROM VARIOUS MANUFACTURERS // RSTI SPIRIT WEAR // CUSTOM TEST EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS MODALITIES (MAMMOGRAPHY, CT, C-ARMS)

VISIT THE NEW RSTI-STORE.COM TODAY!

WWW.RSTI-TRAINING.COM // CALL 440.349.4700 // 7

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WWW.RSTI-TRAINING.COM // CALL 440.349.4700 // 9

BEYOND PARTS – RSTI EXCHANGE POWERS UP! FROM THE DESK OF TERRY SPETH

BY TERRY SPETH VICE PRESIDENT, RSTI EXCHANGE What is the most regulated modality in the country? …

Yes that’s right: mammography. Did you know RSTI, through RSTI Exchange, has in recent years become one of the leading providers of Digital Mammography parts? …Yes, that’s correct, parts.

We have Hologic Selenias, Siemens Novations/ Inspirations, and GE 2000D/DS/Essentials, all stripped down for parts in our warehouse located in Solon, Ohio…home state of the O-H-I-O BUCKEYES. Just sayin’.

From digital detectors to compression paddles, we have them all. Every one of our parts is tested, QC passed, and stored in our temperature controlled warehouse to ensure the best quality for our customers.

I’m going to be optimistic and estimate that more than half of our customers are vigilant about maintaining the room temperature for their detectors. This is crucial prior to installation. If your system is diagnosed with bad pixels or clusters and fails your physicist’s testing… first, you have my deepest condolences, because they are expensive repairs; and second, you need to make sure, prior to installation, your detector has had time to acclimate to your room temperature.

Due to RSTI’s extensive experience with digital mammography (we’ve been teaching it for 16 years now), we ship each detector separately in a custommade Pelican case. Each case has an individual insert containing PCM Blocks that maintain the temperature of the detector when packed into the box. As all of us know, Cleveland, Ohio has four seasons – spring, summer, fall, winter. Spring and fall temperatures are not too bad for our products however winter and summer temperatures range from too cold to too hot, respectively. Every detector we sell includes a warranty so we protect our investment and your

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product. Outside of detectors, we have all of the other boards, computers, power supplies, and compression paddles for each model. RSTI thinks first about you, our customer, with every part we offer. Please think of RSTI first for all your digital mammography needs.

In other news, do you have a Philips CT? Yes? Lucky for you, we are heavy in Philips CTs, too.. Do you need an MRC 600/800 tube? We have several. Our anode/ cathode modules, detector modules, computers, power supplies, and spindle blocks are all fully tested as well.

Beyond mammography, please keep RSTI in mind when choosing your diagnostic imaging parts, in general.

Lastly, stay tuned as RSTI becomes ISO Certified.

We take our quality seriously. We are making it a priority to become the most cost-effective and highestquality, certified parts provider in the country. Are you excited yet? We are!

–Terry Speth

#RSTISUPPORT

QUALITY PARTS, FAIR PRICE AND SUPPORT ASK ABOUT OUR ON-DEMAND SERVICE AND INSTALLS. Call or email our sales staff for quality tested parts, and/or on-demand service.

CALL // 440.349.4700 TERRY SPETH // TSPETH@RSTI-EXCHANGE.COM DARREL KILE // DKILE@RSTI-EXCHANGE.COM JASON WHITFIELD // JWHITFIELD@RSTI-EXCHANGE.COM WWW.RSTI-TRAINING.COM | CALL 440.349.4700 | 11

OPTIMA 220 GETTING AFTER THOSE PESKY GREMLINS

BY MIKE PETELIN // RSTI INSTRUCTOR Is your Optima 200 or 220 experiencing “gremlins?”

Are the batteries not charging properly? Are you receiving drive errors as well as exposure errors and don’t know where to begin troubleshooting? With the advent of more microcontroller-equipped systems, many manufacturers are relying more on software and less on individual hardware design.

The first step after racking your brain should be to reload the firmware on the system board. In the Optima system this is the Spyder board. After the firmware reload, you may have to set the generator calibrations, but that is a small price to pay for getting your system back up and running properly.

You have probably run across computer “glitches” that make a system act strangely. You have to treat microcontroller-driven devices similarly to how you would deal with computer troubleshooting. Reloading software (or in this case, firmware) can alleviate many issues.

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WWW.RSTI-TRAINING.COM // CALL 440.349.4700 // 13

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WWW.RSTI-TRAINING.COM // CALL 440.349.4700 // 15

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