FDA Clears Siemens’ Multix Select Digital Radiography System

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared Siemens Healthcare’s Multix Select DR – an entry-level, floor-mounted digital radiography system that enables cost-effective access to digital radiography (DR). Suitable for nearly all clinical radiography examinations, the Multix Select DR is equipped with intelligent features that make it ideal for helping to enhance clinical excellence and workflow for budget-conscious healthcare providers, the company claims.

“The Multix Select DR enables smaller hospitals and imaging centers with limited budgets and square footage to dispense with the burdens of film and cramped archives and embrace the many benefits of DR,” said Laurie Fisher, vice president of X-ray products, Siemens Healthcare. “With the Multix Select DR, these customers can benefit from a space-conserving, floor-mounted DR system capable of performing a wide range of examinations using selected features from Siemens’ premium X-ray products.”

The Multix Select DR enables physicians to acquire high-quality images rapidly for virtually all radiographic examinations – from skull to pelvis to extremities. Even taller patients can be examined head to toe without repositioning, Siemens executives noted. The system’s 14 x 17-inch mobile flat-panel detector provides optimal coverage for both generalized and specialized radiographic exams. For pediatric exams, the system’s grid can be removed to reduce patient radiation dose. The detector’s robust design enables placement wherever necessary – in or on the patient table as well as in the bucky wall stand – with the ability to acquire images in portrait or landscape format.

The intuitive user interface of the Multix Select DR is identical to Siemens’ premium radiography systems and incorporates its workflow expertise. The user can choose the patient name with a single click, and the system automatically selects the organ program with the user’s individual requirements. The system’s DiamondView Plus on-board post-processing tool optimizes image processing for organ-specific examinations. Advanced tools help the user visualize even the finest detail in bone and soft tissue. Additionally, the software includes the latest quality management tools, including the Clinical Assurance Program for documentation and statistical analyses of rejected images and the Exposure Index Monitoring to ensure use of exposure settings within appropriate ranges. The system’s intelligent automation provides for a high level of image quality with enhanced dose control.

The Multix Select DR enables ease of use. With its floating tabletop and wide, vertical coverage of the bucky wall stand, the system’s patient table permits a flexible range of examinations – standing, sitting, recumbent, or even in wheelchairs – and helps to ensure acceleration of work sequences. For example, synchronous movement of the X-ray tube assembly and the detector tray facilitates positioning. Designed for intuitive operation, the footswitch at the bottom of the patient table helps the user avoid the risk of unintended release of the system’s electromagnetic tabletop breaks.