Mobile C-Arm Fluoroscopy

Overview

A mobile C-arm brings live X-ray imaging to the operating room so surgeons can watch instruments, implants, and contrast move in real time during orthopedic, vascular, and pain procedures. It is wheeled to the table, positioned around the patient, and produces a continuous or pulsed fluoroscopic image without moving the patient, then rolls out of the way when imaging is done.

The imaging chain is built into the C-Arm Assembly, which holds the X-Ray Tube Assembly at one tip and the Flat-Panel Detector at the other so they always stay aligned. The arm slides around its orbit and swivels laterally to reach any projection, and the whole assembly raises and lowers on the Mobile Base. The HV Generator drives the tube, the Iris Collimator limits the beam to the area of interest, and the surgeon triggers exposures with the sterile Exposure Foot Switch. Live and reference images appear on the separate Workstation Cart parked outside the sterile field.

How it works

Continuous low-dose imaging is the defining requirement. The HV Generator runs the tube at low current and pulses the beam through its inverter board, so each frame uses a brief burst rather than a steady stream, far less dose to patient and staff for the same image. The Flat-Panel Detector uses a cesium-iodide scintillator over a TFT array, replacing the old image intensifier with a flat panel that has no geometric distortion or vignetting and streams frames at up to 30 fps through its readout board.

Positioning is what makes the C-arm useful intraoperatively. Because the X-Ray Tube Assembly and detector are fixed to opposite ends of the rigid frame, sliding the frame through its orbit rotates the projection around the anatomy while the focal spot stays centered. The Orbital Drive and lateral swivel let the surgeon reach an oblique or true-lateral view in seconds, and absolute encoders let the team return to a remembered angle. The Mobile Base carries the heavy generator and a counterweight low down for stability, with brakes that lock the casters once the unit is set. Throughout, the System Control Board manages dose, automatic brightness control, pulse rate, and last-image-hold, so the screen stays bright while the beam is on as little as possible.