How to Tell When Imaging Equipment Has Reached End-of-Life (and How to Extend Its Value)

Like humans, medical imaging equipment shows signs of aging. But instead of creaky joints, wrinkles, or gray hair, the machinery gives other hints that it is wearing out and that it might be time for you to make a change.

Here are five signs that your imaging equipment is approaching its last lap, plus tips on what you can do to get a little more usage out of it before it completely gives out.

The manufacturer notifies you that it has stopped making your specific model

Perhaps no greater hint that it's time to make a change is when the manufacturer has stopped making a specific model, its accompanying device components, or the particular system itself. In fact, experts consider any imaging equipment greater than ten years old to be outdated and in need of replacement.

In such cases, the manufacturer usually sends notices to advise the purchasers, called end-of-life (EOL) letters. Even if your imaging equipment still works like a charm, it will eventually reach a point where it has no available service or maintenance options. In these cases, it might be best to replace the equipment before things get to that point—especially when patients' lives may be at stake.

That said, an EOL letter does not always mean the death of your equipment. Independent service organizations (ISOs) can help organizations extend the lifespan of their imaging equipment. Oftentimes, they’ll provide maintenance that has exceeded the manufacturer's scope, offering services such as parts replacements while aiding your bottom line.

You receive an end of service notice

Like an EOL, an end-of-service (EOS) notice also indicates that the time to replace imaging equipment has drawn near. EOS notices typically follow the receipt of an EOL. Ultimately, these notifications mean that, in addition to no longer producing your imaging equipment, the manufacturer has stopped servicing the equipment too. This usually occurs after the manufacturer no longer has parts needed for repair and maintenance and lacks the engineers and supporting staff to service the equipment properly. In these cases, an ISO can still throw you another lifeline, but by this point, you should be actively seeking an upgrade.

At Cassling, our Field Service Engineers work diligently to extend the life of your equipment long past the traditional End-of-Service notice. We source authentic replacement parts from verified sources, and our team has the decades of experience necessary to keep your system running as long as possible. We’ll do everything in our power to keep your imaging equipment going, but even with the best-serviced item, there will come a time when a new purchase is inevitable.

The images are no longer "picture perfect."

Producing a high-quality image is critical to medical imaging. Over time, the clarity of images produced by older equipment could decline or simply be outmatched by modern advances in technology. Poor images could ultimately pose a liability and threaten patient safety by hindering diagnoses. For example, antiquated ultrasound images often look warped, resembling underwater images, while CT images from an outdated system may appear very grainy. Both compromised images point to a long-overdue system upgrade.

Your best bet? Perform annual imaging checks, comparing the quality of recently produced images with those from a year ago. Significant changes, unclear images, and missing features all suggest you should explore other options.

The software developer no longer supports the device's software

One should note that obsolescence also applies to the software—not just the device itself. Much like the seemingly endless updates on an iPhone, imaging software requires regular upgrades (though they’re not nearly as incessant as what you can expect with your phone).

Software can often throw mature equipment a lifeline when nothing else can. Checking regularly for software updates (and opting in to these updates via your original equipment manufacturer) and relying on the OEM or its service provider to deploy them can help keep older equipment moving along a little bit longer.

However, updated software is not a total panacea. Nowadays, some equipment, such as positron emission tomography (PET) scanners, contain advanced features such as AI-assisted diagnosis and sophisticated imaging protocols. Because some of these bells and whistles did not exist at the time of purchase, no amount of software can compensate for a seasoned device's mechanical limitations. And there may come a time when the replacement parts and software are simply not available, from the OEM or a third party. Typically, this is the time when you may have to consider the system unrepairable and start looking at upgrading your equipment to something newer.

Costs greatly outweigh the benefits

An aging system may work more slowly, or the cost of maintenance and repairs begins to outweigh the cost of replacing the equipment. The older the equipment, the greater the chances it will fail or break down. As a result, diagnoses can be delayed—and that's assuming the older equipment can still produce a reliable, high-quality image following repair. Regardless, it goes without saying that delayed diagnoses and treatments negatively affect health outcomes by hindering the path to diagnosis and compromising the patient's safety along the way. 


Another cost that often goes unseen is opportunity cost. If you have high volume, it’s important to get your patients in and out for their scans as quickly as possible, avoiding lengthy care delays.

But let’s say your aging CT or MRI has gotten to a point where it can do two exams in an hour. Because modern systems might be able to squeeze 3 or 4 exams within that same timeframe, you’re leaving reimbursement money on the table because you can’t get enough patients on the table. This also creates a poor user experience for your imaging team, and you could be missing out on the advanced patient safety and comfort features of modern systems.

The solution? Consider establishing a plan or protocol to standardize medical imaging equipment upgrades. The European Society of Radiology, for example, recommends establishing a plan to either renew or upgrade medical imaging equipment that forecasts ahead a minimum of five years, with routine assessments and updates conducted annually.

Explore Your Options

Replacing imaging equipment is never an easy choice. After all, it is time-consuming, carries a cost, and requires staff training. With so many replacement options available as discussed in a previous post, selecting the best option for your hospital, health system or Office Based Lab can prove challenging.

Perhaps one of the most important things you can do is establish a protocol for regular equipment assessment and service. Mark the dates for routine maintenance, annual assessments, and quality checks on the calendar along with five-year replacement assessments. Proactive measures can help reduce the stress of unexpected equipment failures and poor-quality, unreliable images while improving your institution's ability to provide timely, high-quality patient care.

Just because Father Time waits for no one—not even imaging equipment—doesn't mean your system still can't age gracefully.

Need help keeping your imaging system up and running? Explore our imaging equipment service options, and contact us today to learn more!