When Is It Time to Replace Your LINAC System Instead of Repairing It?

It is a known fact that linear accelerators, LINAC systems are expensive. Not only is the piece of equipment on a whole costly but also buying the replacement parts for linear accelerators can be quite costly, especially if it is a rush order. Hence, regular maintenance and care must be ensured to enhance its lifespan.

The importance of a LINAC system for a healthcare facility provider that offers cancer treatment is known to one and all. This intelligent system is designed to treat cancerous cells and kill them as part of cancer treatment. Therefore, it is considered to be a vital aspect in the treatment of different type of cancers.

Health experts know that the radiation that emits out of LINAC and other such devices also pose certain health hazards. However, linear accelerators boast of advanced safety measures; hence, these machines are programmed to provide only the required dosage that is required keeping in consideration the condition of the patient.

The problem with LINACS, like other systems, they can start to falter over time. Regular use can lead to damages in different parts of the machine, as a result, it may start showing deteriorate signs or stop working completely. A tough decision to make here is whether to get it repaired or if the equipment needs to be replaced.

The key is to know when to fix or when to replace. When equipment starts to falter on a regular basis, it may be time to look into finding a refurbished LINAC system. However, a system that is just experiencing normal wear and tear should be repaired using linear accelerator replacement parts.

You should consider the replacement option in case a part of the system has faltered or stopped working when it starts to occur on a regular basis. However, in a situation where a single part of the system stops, or something occurs that is normal it is a better option to repair the equipment. These large pieces of medical equipment are meant to withstand time so in many cases repair is the best options.

It really comes down to a number of factors such as downtime from the present equipment. If you are continually experiencing equipment failure that leads to cancelled treatments then you may have to analyze the cost between patient care, cancelled appointments, repair expenses, replacement parts, vs the cost of new equipment.

Learn more about Radparts and the variety of services and parts they offer to repair medical equipment including: linear accelerators parts, CT scanners parts, linac parts, and radiation oncology equipment at www.radparts.com. To contact one of our medical equipment repair specialists for parts or service call toll free 877.704.3838 for 24/7/365 support.

Service Contracts, Procuring Parts, and Timely Repairs

LINAC service contracts are used in hospitals and clinics on medical equipment and machines that are used in the process of treating cancer patients with radiation therapy. LINAC service contracts are agreements between companies that state services will be performed on medical equipment as necessary for a specific time.

Linear accelerators are available in many medical facilities to be used in the treatment of cancer. This machine allows radiation to conform to the size and shapes of tumors in patients with cancer. This treatment is targeted to the cancerous tumors without affecting healthy tissues that are nearby. Radiation oncology equipment is crucial to treatment. This leads most hospitals and facilities to require regular service and maintenance on medical equipment throughout the radiation department.

Many companies servicing LINAC machines have replacement parts in stock and quick access to regularly needed replacement parts; this ensures that important equipment is serviced and repaired in a timely manner to avoid lengthy downtime. The top five replacement parts kept on hand for linear accelerators maintenance and repair include:

Thyratron

It is used as a high power electrical switch and as a controlled rectifier. It is a gas filled tube and it has the capacity to maintain much greater currents than similar hard-vacuum tubes. IT works according to the phenomenon known Townsend in which the gas becomes ionized on electron multiplication. The failure of thyratron can shut the entire system.

Spare Pendant

Another of the important replacement parts of linear accelerators are spare pendants. They are used to control the motions on a linear accelerator machine. Control of linear set for a patient is limited if a spare pendant is not working.

Hydraulic Actuator

A hydraulic actuator is a cylindrical or fluid motor which converts hydraulic power into mechanical energy used to do the mechanical work in the LINAC machine. It can produce linear, rotary or oscillatory motions. It has the capability for high outputs of force and can produce high power per unit of weight and volume measurement.

MLC Motor

The multi- leaf collimator motors are known as MLC motor. These replacement parts of linear accelerators are used to accurately target the tumours in a radiation therapy by shaping the particle beams. They form a vital part in maintaining the capability of a LINAC machine to regulate the dosage of radiation for therapy sessions for different cancer patients. Hence, they are readily stocked to prevent the reduction of LINAC machine’s performance.

Long/Lat drive for patient table

One of the most common but important replacement parts of linear accelerators are the devices used for moving/ driving the patient table in and out of the machine along with side-to-side movement during the therapy sessions. If these devices are not working LINAC machines cannot be operated due to the inability to move patient in the desired position to do the radiation therapy.

Medical repair companies offering service contracts on radiation oncology equipment maintain and keep replacement parts of linear accelerators on hand will prevent you from technical issues created by the last-minute equipment failure. If you need further information about the replacement parts of linear accelerators and from where to procure them feel free to contact us.

Choosing Replacement Parts For LINACS

LINACS, which is short for linear accelerator, is a very important piece of equipment in the medical world. Linear accelerators utilize external beam radiation to destroy abnormal cells in the body, preventing the regrowth of tumors and most importantly, treating cancer without harming the healthy cells around it. LINAC technology is a combination of physics and engineering that is vital for saving lives, therefore, any hitches or glitches with the equipment is unacceptable.

Owing to the simple fact that most medical equipment needs regular maintenance to stay running properly and that a new linear accelerator will set you back a few thousands, if not millions of dollars, depending on the city, country of installation, as well as on the upgrades and features of each system, it helps to have around the clock access to a distributor of replacement parts for LINACS.

A linear accelerator contains hundreds of sensitive and sophisticated parts. If one LINAC part gets damaged, it can easily cause a ripple effect and bring an oncologist’s clinic to a halt for a few good days, especially if they don’t have instant access to a professional maintenance team let alone replacement parts for LINACS. This is why having a linear accelerator part supplier at the touch of a button is important. While buying a refurbished LINAC system may seem like the best way forward, oncologists can save thousands of dollars and get excellent value on quality replacement parts for LINACS when they buy them from a quality distributor who not only replaces the parts but will also offer regular repair services and solutions.

Cancer patients have to deal with a lot of life-threatening situations during their path to recovery such as infections. They need the reassurance that their doctors are taking every precaution necessary to ensure their safety. Radiation therapy has proven to be a highly effective method of cancer treatment, including relieving symptoms caused by more advanced cancers. Being a highly-targeted treatment that aims accurately at the cancer wherever it is in the body, radiotherapy contributes to about forty percent of all cancer cures and does a great job of alleviating cancer-related symptoms such as pain and in so doing, improves the quality of life for many cancer patients.

A linear accelerator is designed to deliver high does with precision and accuracy through photon beams to destroy cancer cells and diminish their ability to reproduce, which is why any malfunction should be addressed immediately to prevent any mishaps during treatments.

The Importance of On-Time Medical Equipment Repair

When you have a business in the medical field, you need to make sure that your equipment is running smoothly. When something breaks, you need to call a repair person quick or else you’ll have to reschedule appointments, which can hurt your bottom line. When your equipment needs new linear accelerator parts, you need a trustworthy repair company that will come out and fix it so that you can go back to running your healthcare clinic.

When you hire the right company, you want to make sure that they come out when they say they will because if they are late or not following the schedule, you’re not only losing money, patient care suffers. Your medical equipment is what makes your practice or clinic money and is imperative for seeing patients. When it’s broken, you need it up and running fast! You have no time to waste because broken medical equipment can take a while to repair, especially if you need to order special linear accelerator parts.

Finding a reliable medical equipment repair company is so important, you might want to look into having some back up refurbished linear accelerators just in case anything happens. This way, you’ll be able to still see patients while your other equipment is being fixed. You won’t have to shut down for the day or reschedule your patients since the refurbished linear accelerators in your office will work just as good as your primary ones.

Refurbished linear accelerators are merely older models that have been refurbished with new linear accelerator parts so that they’re in working condition. In fact, many run smoother than brand new equipment as it has had time for the kinks to be worked out. Having more than one machine in your practice means you won’t be rushed into finding an on-time medical equipment repair company. You won’t have to stress about not being able to accommodate patients and your repair person can take their time figuring out when your primary machine isn’t working properly. Although you ideally want to find an on-time medical equipment company to come out to service your machines, you won’t have as much of a headache knowing that you have a backup refurbished linear accelerator to handle your patient load in the meantime.

Analyzing Linear Accelerators and Their Major Components

Linear accelerators are widely used for the treatment of cancer using high radio-frequency electromagnetic waves to speed up electrons to increased energy in a linear path inside of an accelerator waveguide. The frequency is medical LINACs is around 3 billion Hertz. As the most common form of external beam radiation treatment after a cancer diagnosis it is crucial for end users to have a basic understanding of what a LINAC is. As well as how the major components within LINAC systems work in conjunction with one another to produce radiation treatment.

Consider how a microwave oven works. This is in the most basic sense how a linear accelerator operates. A LINAC uses microwave technology to accelerate charged particles within a waveguide, tube like structure. These electrons then strike a metal target producing photons. It is these photons that are focused on the cancerous tumor. This radiation is delivered in the shape of the tumor to avoid contact with healthy tissues with the use of a variety of positioning devices. Now that we have a general understanding of the linear accelerator lets take a look into the major components that allow LINAC systems to operate as we know them to as of today.

Drive Stand:

A drive stand is a rather large cabinet, usually rectangular in shape, that secures the LINAC machine to the floor of the treatment room that houses the gantry.

Gantry:

The gantry is a moveable frame of the LINAC that is located in the drive stand and rotates on a horizontal axis. It helps direct the photon beams directly into the patient’s tumor. The gantry rotates 360 degrees on its axis. There are three components that are found within the gantry: the electron gun, accelerator structure, and treatment head.

Klystron:

The klystron is a major component that is located within the drive stand that delivers the microwave energy that is used to accelerate the electrons through amplified RF electromagnetic waves.

Accelerator Guide:

The energy from the klystron moves to the accelerator structure to speed up electrons.

Treatment Head:

The treatment head of a LINAC encases the components that shape the radiation to the specific size of the cancerous tumor. This can include: bending magnets, primary collimator, beam flattening filter, wedges, blocks, and compensators.

Cooling System:

The water cooling system in a linear accelerator is located within the drive stand and gantry to regulate the temperature in the space.

In our next installment we will look in greater detail to the treatment head of a LINAC system and the variety of components housed within that help shape radiation beams into the shape of different cancerous tumors.

Advantages of Purchasing Refurbished Radiation Oncology Equipment

Purchasing refurbished medical equipment is never a bad idea. Despite the allure of buying new radiation oncology equipment, purchasing a refurbished linear accelerator for your practice might be a better choice. There is a lot to consider when you’re getting ready to purchase radiation oncology equipment for your practice like space, budget, and personnel impacts. Before you purchase all-new equipment consider just a few of the advantages of buying refurbished medical equipment below:

Costs

The biggest advantage when buying refurbished linear accelerator equipment is the cost. Buying new can really blow your entire budget, but used ones can actually make your budget stretch more, allowing you to do other things for your practice. By going for the cheaper option, you still get a quality piece of equipment at a fraction of the cost of what you would pay for a new model.

Buy More Equipment

If you’d like to offer more services to your patients, you can easily buy two or more pieces of radiation oncology equipment for your practice instead of just buying one new linear accelerator. This allows you to treat more patients for the price of what you would have spent if you only bought one machine. This way your practice can offer more appointments, getting more patients on the books and increasing your ROI.

Use That Money Elsewhere

For the price you’ll buy for a refurbished linear accelerator, you can use that extra money to do other things that will benefit your practice. You can use that money to redesign the patient waiting room area or hire more staff for better customer service. If buying a used machine is just as good as a new one and will get the job done, why not use that extra money for good somewhere else? This way you’ll be able to grow your practice and expand its success.

New Equipment For Half The Price

Refurbished pieces have been fixed by professionals to function like new, so you’ll get a practically brand-new linear accelerator affordably! Every refurbished piece is seen by a skilled medical technician before getting discharged back into service, so everything that needed fixing was fixed and you get something practically new without the new price tag.

As with any piece of medical equipment new or refurbished, there are times when equipment fails or needs maintenance. For these instances there are professionals offering service and parts to repair and maintain linear accelerators. Companies such as Radparts offer a huge selection of linear accelerator parts and innovative replacement and repair solutions that in many cases can save you up to 50% or more on your linear accelerator parts costs.

Discover Why You Need Scheduled Repairs to LINAC Systems Prevent Unnecessary Downtime

To ensure that medical equipment such as LINAC systems and CT Scanners are fully functional and effective at all times, while preventing unnecessary downtime, scheduled maintenance is recommended. Scheduled repairs allow for treatment to be scheduled around replacing worn parts and preventative maintenance. Medical equipment of all varieties, including linear accelerators, is costly and expensive to replace. Facilities should not wait until they are damaged or dysfunctional to create a plan of action. There is a significance cost savings in scheduled repairs and pre-planning for replacement.

What Is Scheduled Maintenance?

Scheduled maintenance is the planned component of repair or replacement that is also referred to as preventative maintenance whereby the system is thoroughly inspected to ensure that all parts are functioning properly. Linear accelerator parts are replaced that are known to wear out when historically known to wear out.

Why Are Scheduled Repairs to LINAC Systems Important?

LINAC systems are incredibly sensitive in terms of handling and maintenance. They need to be kept functional and unnecessary downtime needs to be avoided especially because on-time treatment is imperative. If maintenance is not completed and needed maintenance is avoided damage to some key parts of the LINACS or alter the value of your equipment. Linear accelerators and radiation oncology equipment that is being used in hospitals need to be kept in perfect working order for them to deliver accurate and timely results that guide doctors in the treatment of their patients.

Where to Find Linear Accelerator Parts

A LINAC system is prone to faults, as is all medical equipment, and may require occasional repairs. To ensure that the system stays functional and is effective, you need to find a service company that offers genuine and functional linear accelerator parts and repair services. Working with a company that has a record of offering professional repair services, when they are needed with access to LINAC parts is crucial. Working with highly skilled engineers guarantees you of a highly effective LINAC system.

What’s the Cost for Scheduled LINAC Systems Repairs?

The cost of scheduled linear accelerators repairs will depend on the company that you hire to perform service. Look for a LINAC service company that goes out of their way to ensure timely service, repairs, monitoring, and replacement parts for reasonable. Seek a company with a proven track record that you can rely on.

Repairing LINACS With OEM Replacement Parts

LINAC system is the common name for linear accelerators. Their parts are very complicated, and they are intricately built machines. A direct linear accelerator is a gadget that utilizations high radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic waves to quicken charged particles for generating high energies in a straight way, inside a tube-like structure called the direct linear accelerator.

The resonating frequency of the medical LINAC is about 3 billion Hertz cycles per second. This is the most widely recognized gadget to treat the tumor with outside pillar radiation. To sum up, the linear accelerating agent is fundamentally a mechanical assembly to accelerate charged subatomic particles, utilized as a part of radiotherapy, and the creation of radionuclides.

What to do when the machine gets broken?

Frequently, the parts for repairing linear accelerator agents, LINAC, are expensive to the point that they come just in case of the genuine sum for purchasing another LINAC. This influences numerous individuals to think about whether it is smarter to simply purchase another machine by and large since alternate parts of the LINAC may separate soon enough and should be supplanted too. Along these lines, as we would like to think, settling radiation machines and LINACs is the better alternative.

Repairing LINACS with OEM replacement parts

Parts for repairing linear accelerator agents may be very costly, however, that is whether you purchase new parts. Rather, you can select the sensible alternative, which is revamping or repairing the broken parts. There are various firms in the market that offer revamping of parts for radiation hardware. The restored parts are frequently returned rapidly, and this productive procedure spares you a large portion of the cash you would spend on another part. Accordingly, it is best to locate a decent overhauling organization for your LINACs.

Linear accelerators are complicated devices. Each one has thousands of parts that work together to send subatomic particles hurtling at incredible speeds toward a target. They can be used in radiation therapy to fight cancer, academic research and more.

It only takes one failing part of the linear accelerator to stop the entire machine. Those broken parts are not just tossed in the trash. Instead, OEM replacement parts often refurbish and repair the parts for future use with the same level of quality as a new part.

In fact, OEM replacement parts repair several hundred LINAC systems a year for clients all over the world and are best to use for replacement parts.

When a client sends any of the OEM manufacturer or service provider a damaged part, they can often get them a replacement within one day. Similarly, they can then take the damaged part and hand it over to the trained technicians to repair for resale. So, don’t wait and use them with confidence for repairing the linear accelerators parts.

Maintaining LINAC Systems with OEM Replacement Parts

Any electrical equipment that is repeatedly used will break down due to several reasons such as improper maintenance or lack thereof. They can also malfunction owing to poor electrical connections, overrunning the machine’s capability, having an untrained individual operate the equipment, including not replacing worn out parts when needed.

The Importance Of LINAC Parts

A linear accelerator (LINAC) is a very complex medical device that delivers high-energy X-rays to treat patients with cancer. Each component within a LINAC system is important, and all of them need to continually undergo rigorous, cleaning, testing, and maintenance to ensure optimal performance.

Linear accelerators Parts are very costly, and most LINAC owners often consider the option of buying a brand-new unit instead of paying for outrageously high repair parts costs, including maintenance and upkeep fees. Even though all LINAC parts have separate but vital functions, they are linked to each other and therefore, need to work in cohesion. Any breakdown of one of the parts can lead to a ripple effect that may render the whole system useless.

Cooling the LINAC Parts

The linear accelerator works by producing high energy particle beams, thus making the cooling system inclined to overheat. Depending on the model, most LINACs use a water cooling system that provides thermal stability to the system and allows the gantry and drive stand to operate at a constant temperature.

Today there are technologically advanced air-cooled chillers for LINAC cooling systems that are would probably cost more to replace a broken system. There are several independent oncology equipment refurbishing companies that have original equipment manufacturer (OEM) LINAC replacement parts, which even though they are also costly, however, once these LINAC parts are replaced, the system can continue to work like new.

The only concern when using such a complex and volatile piece of equipment is to maximize its uptime and minimizing on the overall total cost of ownership. Having said that, LINAC parts are available through the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) online or through a local dealer. The catch-22 is, do you go the economical way, such as scouring the local neighborhood depot to find the cheapest option that will work anyway, or do you stick with the original manufacturer’s LINAC parts?

Purchasing Replacement Parts

While the LINAC parts you find locally will probably serve you for a while until you can afford an OEM, but when it comes to quality, the materials will not be the same as the original. You can end up with a new replacement LINAC part that does not match up in the case of complicated parts and assemblies.

Maintaining LINAC systems with the original equipment manufacturer replacement parts also guarantee warranty coverage on each piece of equipment and in case the system fails, you can file a warranty claim provided the replacement parts that have been used match the manufacturer specifications. Using OEM LINAC parts also ensures the related components are compatible with the system, they are durable, and most importantly, they are reliable.

The Average Lifespan of Linear Accelerator Parts

A linear accelerator, often referred to as a LINAC, is a type of particle accelerator that customizes electrons or high energy x-rays to conform to the shape of a tumor to destroy cancer cells while sparing the life of normal surrounding tissue. It has a variety of built-in features that are designed to ensure a patient receives only the prescribed dose as directed by a physician. However, linear accelerators are made up parts components that could age over time. What is the average lifespan of these parts?

Lifespan Of A Linear Accelerator

Two major determinants of the lifespan of a linear accelerator and indeed any equipment, are usage and maintenance. Although it is reasonable to expect a usage of between 5 to 10 years, maintenance of the accelerator will be critical to just how much you enjoy the equipment. Here we look at the parts of a linear accelerator and their average lifespan depending on usage.

Parts such as Magnetron and iView detector last for about two years with high use, and between 4-6 years with low and moderate use. An x-ray tube lasts for about 18 months upon high use, 3 years when the system is moderately used, and above 4 years when the usage is low. An XVI detector lasts for about 5 years upon high usage, about 7 years when used moderately, and over 10 years when the accelerator usage is low. On the other hand, a Thryratron tube can last up to 3 years when the usage is high and 5 years and above upon low to moderate usage of the accelerator.

Age Vs. Usage

Basically, the average lifespan of each linear accelerator part largely depends on the part and amount of usage. Other parts such as the electron gun would need a replacement after one year on high use, while it can last even above 6 years upon low usage. Environmental factors can also affect the ion chamber of a linear accelerator, high humidity can cause a reduced lifespan. While an average ion chamber will only need a replacement after four years, one in an environment with high humidity will need a replacement after a year.

Replacing Aging Parts

Changing aging parts over time is ideal to avoid causing the equipment any damages. Some companies tend to consider the price of the equipment and the costs involved in changing the parts over time. However, this is never a good yardstick to even maximize profits in the long run as a breakdown of significant parts of the system may be disastrous for the equipment.

Thyratron

Spare Pendant

Hydraulic Actuator

MLC Motor

Long/Lat drive for patient table