This year 2021 marks the 60th anniversary of the birth of the Remote-controlled Fluoroscopy Table system, which was developed by Shimadzu Corporation for the first time in the world in 1961.
60 years ago, Shimadzu completed the world’s first Remote R/F (Radiography and Fluoroscopy) system and installed it in Osaka Prefectural lifestyle diseases center (currently known as “Osaka International Cancer Institute”). Until then, all R/F systems were designed to be operated at the patient side, therefore radiation dose to the operators was a major issue. Our development of the Remote R/F system solved that issue and reduced X-ray exposure to operators to zero basically. It changed the world of fluoroscopy exams completely, and “Remote R/F system” became the golden standard R/F solution today in most countries throughout the world, which has helped to save the operators from X-ray exposures.
Since then, Shimadzu has continuously worked on the developments to reduce radiation dose further for the patients as well and brought lots of innovative technologies to the world. In 1992, X-ray images were digitalized and the radiation dose was significantly reduced compared to film radiography. In 2004, we released the world’s first R/F system with Tomosynthesis, performing digital multi-slice tomography at lower dose than CT scanners. In 2019, our latest image processing technology “SCORE PRO Advance” succeeded in achieving both thorough dose reduction and sharp fluoroscopic images.
As known by our latest premium multi-functional R/F system SONIALVISION G4 LX edition, Shimadzu will continue our efforts to contribute to the healthcare and patients all around the world providing our cutting-edge technologies and premium quality products, as a Remote R/F pioneer.