Well, you might realise that having a successful general practice involves having some specialised diagnostic equipment readily available. Or the other scenario might be that you’re your “old-faithful” EKG machine has decided to retire unexpectedly and it is broken with no repair possibilities.

Some things have changed since you last had a look at the technology and features provided. Listed are some factors you will need to take indo consideration before buying your new EKG machine.

1. Paper Use

What paper does the new machine use and what are the dimensions of the paper? You will find that certain electrocardiograph machines use 6 cm sheets or half sized sheets to do print outs on.  It is even possible to find EKG machines that make use of smaller paper that are able to provide you with a full print in 3 x 4 + 1 format.  However, the preferred used paper for EKG printouts by the majority of cardiologist remain the letter sized paper which is 8.5” x 11”. This may be a more expensive choice but for filing and record keeping purposes this is the best paper option to use.

2. Data Capturing Capabilities

The ideal is to have an EKG machine that allows you to enter specific patient information via a keyboard.   It is common sense that an EKG are used by several medical personnel and with printed patient information on the EKG printout it does not only serve to be more professional, but also prevents wrong identification added to a printout with obvious serious implications.

3. What View Do You Have?

With a screen at your disposal fitted to the EKG machine, you will be able to see that all leads are in good working order. This feature also allows you to ensure that the base line is stable before starting to record the EKG.  If all 12 leads are visible, you will be able to view all activities in real time.

The GE Voluson 730 Pro Bt02 4d Ultrasound Machine is state of the art, highly advanced piece of medical equipment that combines real time 4D imaging capabilities and 3D scanning and provides simultaneous visualization of all three planes. It helps analyze and explore images in different planes and renders them with intricate details and amazing clarity and resolution.

The inbuilt sophisticated analytical tools help interpret, analyze and process the data to provide optimum diagnostic capabilities. The main domains of use cover abdominal, obstetrical, gynecological, cardiac and vascular. Additionally it is also used for diagnostic examination of small parts and for breast examination. The machine is bulky and looks like a supercomputer riddled with buttons, consoles, pads, dials and knobs which shout its superior technological advantages.

The cart that it is fixed onto is movable and has small wheels at the bottom that allow portability. The machine is ideal for medium to large medical facilities that seek advanced and extremely versatile and accurate medical equipment.

It comes with an alphanumeric keyboard that affords easy data entry and manipulation of its functions and a 15 inch high resolution non- interlaced, flat, CRT monitor that renders high quality images with color, clarity and detail. Additional buttons and dials and knobs are available for calling up various functions and for selecting different modes of operation.

The other features include the 3D/4D static real time imaging with a frame rate of 15 frames per second and a state of the art user interface with on screen menu’s that makes the navigation process hassle free. The rendered images are optimized through automatic tissue optimization. The machine comes with 4 active probe ports and an option to archive images on CD or hard drive which can store up to 40GB of data.

It provides three different modes for tissue imaging and also has a digital Beamformer and 512 system processing channel technology with CINE memory that gives the capability of storing up to 3000 2D images. It uses power Doppler imaging and tissue Doppler imaging for data gathering.

The Acuson P50 Ultrasound Machine from Siemens is a portable and compact machine that resembles a laptop and comes with advanced diagnostic capabilities and technological features which make it an excellent diagnostic utility for any medical practitioner. It comes with integrated echocardiography software that is specifically formulated for mobile cardiological and vascular applications and also has significant applications within the OR and in the anesthesia departments.

It looks similar to a laptop and has similar connectivity features which enable it to be used as a standard enabled PC that also incorporates standard office features and software adaptability.

The flexible architecture enables display of excellent high quality ultrasound images and has multiple built in tools for image processing and enhancement. In addition to performing basic operations like surfing the internet and sending emails and making presentations, it is also suited for a variety of complex applications. The compact and lightweight design makes it portable and lends a great deal of attractiveness. It works on batteries that run for a continuous two hours, making it ideal for emergency situations.

The P50 as its looks would suggest, is based on the apple Mac book laptop and comes with a 2GB RAM and a has a hard disk storage capacity of 160GB. It runs on a 2GHZ Intel dual core Pentium M processor.

The main advantage of the P50 is that it combines flexibility of usage and versatility with power packed performance delivery suited to any workflow demands. The portability that is affords gives you the option to move it around as easily as you would a laptop computer. The console and general appearance is stylish making it a very presentable system for small clinics, operating rooms and mobile imaging applications.

It doubles up as a fully functional notebook which is capable of running windows based applications on the Apple MacBook Pro platform. The control panel which can be used to perform ultrasound exams and run programs for processing and generating the data slides in and out of the compact design.