Browiner MobileApex

Intensive care units are the core setting, where bedside chest films check lines, tubes and lung changes in ventilated adults who cannot leave the bed space. Emergency departments can bring the MobileApex to resuscitation bays, theatre teams can use it for checks before a patient leaves the table, and wards and isolation rooms can call it for patients who should stay put. Browiner also lists neonatal intensive care, but the US clearance covers adults only, so neonatal use depends on the intended purpose in the manufacturer's conformity documents.

The tablet sets the choreography of each request. With it docked, the radiographer positions the patient, places the detector and checks the field on the camera preview from the bedside. Lifting it off, they step out to the distance set by local rules, expose, and review the image on the same screen before the detector returns to charge. Distance is one of the three radiation protection controls alongside time and shielding, and the employer's local rules, written on RPA advice, decide where staff stand. Evidence shapes how often that route is walked. A 2009 cluster-randomised trial in 21 French intensive care units, involving 849 ventilated adults, tested routine daily chest films against films ordered on clinical need. The on-demand approach cut radiograph use by about 32 per cent, with no significant difference in ventilation days, ICU length of stay or ICU mortality. Under IR(ME)R 2017, each exposure on that route is still justified individually by a practitioner.

NHS trusts, independent hospitals and public health systems abroad buy mobile radiography through procurement routes that ask for a device's conformity status, registration and radiation protection records. The manufacturer issues the conformity documentation those procurement routes require, and the enquiry team shares it.

Controls that stay with the radiographer

The tablet keeps exposure settings beside the patient when docked, then triggers the exposure and displays the image when lifted. One device carries the whole sequence, from settings through exposure to image review.

A camera view of the field

The collimator camera shows the field in real time on the tablet. Radiographers can check the framing on the tablet from where they stand at the bedside, including in crowded bays.

Distance at the moment of exposure

Remote exposure from the tablet lets the operator stand back when the beam is on. Where exactly staff stand is set by the employer's local rules on the advice of the RPA.

Output for thicker body parts

Browiner positions the 63 kW generator for thicker body parts and larger patients, with 630 mA available at 100 kV. At that current, the system can deliver a short exposure time, limiting motion blur.

A detector kept charged

The storage bin charges the wireless detector between examinations and opens on a sensor, so the panel can be lifted out hands-free. Browiner describes it as kept fully charged and ready for the next examination.

Travel under motor power

An electric motor drives the trolley between wards, and the retracted column keeps the view ahead clear. The enquiry team can request the manufacturer to set drive speed and ramp limits.

A screen that tilts

The base touchscreen's angle can be fine-tuned, which Browiner says gives a clear, glare-free view in any environment. Operators can set the angle to suit each room's lighting.

Images that reach PACS

Wi-Fi, Ethernet and DICOM are listed, so images can travel to PACS from the ward once the hospital's network team has approved the connection.

Test reports behind the design

The 510(k) summary lists testing to IEC 60601-1, 60601-1-2, 60601-1-3 and 60601-2-54, with software to IEC 62304 and usability to IEC 62366-1. The enquiry team can request the test evidence that the manufacturer releases for local radiation and electrical safety files.

63 kW generator

Rated at 63 kW nominal in the 510(k) summary, the generator reaches that output at 630 mA, 100 kV and 100 ms, and Browniner calls it high-frequency.

Tube voltage from 40 to 150 kV

Voltage moves in 1 kV steps across the range, with a stated tolerance of ±10%.

Current, time and mAs

Current runs from 10 to 630 mA, time from 1 to 10,000 ms and mAs from 0.1 to 630. Tolerances for each are in the specification table.

Two tube options

The specification lists rotating-anode tubes from two makers, with focal spots of 0.6 and 1.0 mm or 0.6 and 1.2 mm. The quotation names the tube fitted.

Manual collimator

A square or rectangular field is set by hand on the BRC-60 collimator, which has a field indicator lamp.

Collimator camera

Inside the collimator, a camera streams a real-time view to the tablet so the operator can check the field before exposure.

Detachable smart tablet

When docked, it serves as a wireless console on the tube head. Detached, it is a remote controller for parameters, exposure and image preview.

Voice guidance and fine movement

The tablet controls voice guidance and drives small positioning moves in several directions, as Browiner describes.

Tilting touchscreen workstation

The integrated workstation on the base has a touchscreen whose angle can be fine-tuned. The photographs show it displaying a chest image.

Inductive handle

An inductive handle unlocks movement across several axes, with no buttons to press.

Sensor-opened storage bin

An automatic sensor opens the retractable storage bin hands-free, and its smooth design is intended for easy cleaning and disinfection.

Detector charging

In storage, the wireless detector charges automatically, and the same storage holds its accessories.

Five detector options

CareView 1500Cwe, Mars1417X, Mars1717X, CareView 750Cw and Luna 1012X are the panels named in the 510(k) summary, with pixel sizes from 100 to 140 µm.

Extendable column

Retracted, the column keeps the view ahead clear, and the Red Dot description says it fits easily through doors. Extended, it sets the distance between tube and detector for imaging.

Motor drive with collision protection

An electric motor powers the trolley on large drive wheels, with double collision protection.

Battery or mains operation

The unit runs on its battery or from a single-phase 100 to 240 V supply, within ±10%.

Software and connectivity

MOC V05 acquisition software runs on Windows and includes more than 500 anatomical programmes; Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and DICOM carry images onward.

The MobileApex suits intensive care units, emergency departments, theatres and wards that image adults at the bedside and want positioning, exposure and image review handled from one tablet. Services needing mammography, fluoroscopic guidance or neonatal imaging outside the manufacturer's stated intended purpose need a different specification. Radiation protection duties come with it: HSE registration under IRR17, a critical examination at installation, acceptance testing and the employer's IR(ME)R procedures. Before ordering, establish the detector and tube to be supplied, the battery, and the dimension and weight figures, and the CE certificate position for the MobileApex. Medigear.uk lists the MobileApex for business buyers worldwide and can arrange delivery, installation, commissioning, familiarisation and service cover.