Why are health experts saying that sitting is the new smoking? Well, everyone knows the health effects of smoking, and the sooner everyone realizes that sitting can also be immensely harmful the better. Hopefully, you will jump out of your chair when you find out that:

When choosing an imaging desk in the modern day era of 2016, it is important to keep in mind the evolution of equipment you'll need on your desk. You want your imaging desk to evolve as your needs change and your equipment advances. After all, it is 2016 and those monitors aren't the same as they used to be!

In the first installment of tips on how to choose your imaging furniture provider, we went over the basics of why it’s important to look for a provider who wants to have a long-term relationship with you, along with what to expect from warranties and customer service. So, as promised, we’re back with more details on how to choose a furniture provider. Without further ado, let’s pick up where we left off by discussing what things to take into account before signing on!

As a customer, you can and should expect high quality products, as well as a full service support team, when choosing an imaging furniture provider. What you really want is a partner, meaning the provider is looking for a long-term relationship instead of just hoping to close the first sale. It takes some time and research to find the best provider for the job, and here is some sound advice to help you on your way.

In my past life I worked in outside sales and was pretty active; I later accepted a position requiring me to sit at a desk for the majority of my working day. If anyone had told me then, in the nineties, that sitting at a desk all day could be hazardous to your health, they certainly wouldn’t have been taken very seriously.

Typically, a radiologist’s work environment is a very dark room with the exception of the light coming from the monitors the goal being to interpret the digital imaging on the screen. Because the rooms are very dark and the screens are very bright, eyes can become fatigued. This increases the likelihood of headaches, and overall discomfort.

Thinking of re-modeling your imaging center? Maybe even replacing a few desks? Purchasing new furniture? Here are a few questions you should ask your next imaging desks provider:

1. Is it possible to have custom sizes that meet our environmental constraints without paying custom up charges? It is possible. Look for manufacturers who build their own product. What does this mean? Doesn't every manufacturer build their own stuff? No. Some companies just buy parts from other manufacturers and sell them as their product. This limits them to supply only what they have available, not what you need. Ask if they manufacture their entire product?
   
   

It is a known fact that the optimum monitor placement would locate users monitors equal distance from the user’s eyes in order to minimize the need for the eyes to refocus when looking from screen to screen, thus reducing eye strain. 

As a radiologist, it's no doubt that you spend a rather significant amount of time at a desk, behind a computer. The physical toll it takes on your body has to have crossed your mind. Not only do you risk becoming ill from germs on your keyboard and work surfaces, but you can also injure yourself. One of the most common preventable injuries amongst someone who spends a significant amount of time at a desk is related to the placement of the keyboard. Keyboard orientation is important to reduce muscular skeletal injuries. Whether sitting or standing, maintaining neutral alignment of the wrist along with an approximate 90 degree forearm-to-upper-arm relationship will significantly reduce the opportunity of injury.

Why would radiologists want their work surfaces to be antimicrobial? Radiologists, or anyone for that matter, would not like these “pests” living on their workstations:

Did you know that on unprotected surfaces, bacteria can double in number every 20 minutes? Ewwww!

Xybix offers an antimicrobial worksurface, in which the laminate work surface is infused with silver ions, which form an antimicrobial surface that curtails the growth of harmful bacteria. Silver ion technology has been proven to inhibit the growth of bacteria by 99.9%. Manufacturing our workstation surfaces with a silver ion composition provides radiologists with a healthier environment.