Villa Apollo EZ DRF: a compact fluoroscopy system for space-limited rooms

What Apollo EZ DRF is

Apollo EZ DRF is a digital remote-controlled table designed for compactness. It is useful in older buildings, smaller clinics and hospital departments where an existing room has to be converted for a digital R/F system, and the available floor area is the limiting factor.

As the name suggests, it belongs to the same Apollo family as the Villa Apollo DRF, so the digital concept and the type of examinations are comparable.

Apollo EZ DRF specifications

The tabletop is available with 2-way movement for maximum compactness or 4-way movement for wider patient coverage, optionally in carbon fibre to further reduce dose. A focus-detector distance of up to 180 cm gives chest images comparable to those from a chest stand. The system supports DSA, stitching and tomosynthesis, with DSA and stitching offered as options.

Listing the facts is the easy part; the important step is to confirm them in the quotation and to ask for any value that is not published, such as table height range and weight capacity.

• Small footprint for space-limited rooms
• 43 × 43 cm dynamic flat-panel detector
• 2-way or 4-way tabletop movement
• Optional carbon-fibre tabletop
• Focus-detector distance up to 180 cm for chest exams
• Column tilting ±40°
• DSA and stitching (optional), tomosynthesis

Apollo EZ vs Apollo DRF: how to decide

The choice between Apollo EZ and Apollo DRF is mostly about space and patient coverage. Apollo EZ DRF is designed to save room; the Apollo DRF is the established, fuller-featured table with a ±90° tilt and other functions described on its product overview. Compare tabletop movement, patient transfer and access around the table for your exam mix, and ask the supplier to explain the differences in writing.

If you expect interventional work from several sides of the table, look at the Apollo DRF Open instead.

Planning a compact R/F room

A small room still needs correct shielding, a control area, safe patient entry and space for emergency access. Check door width for stretchers, the distance from the table to walls and the position of the control desk. Our guides to X-ray room size and layout and X-ray room design requirements explain what to verify.

Do not reduce shielding or access to fit a table. If the room is too small for the intended workflow, consider a different layout rather than compromising safety.

Typical applications for a compact R/F system

A compact R/F table suits polyclinics, day-surgery centres and smaller hospitals that perform contrast studies of the digestive and urinary tracts, joint and spine examinations and general radiography in one room. Because the detector is the same 43 × 43 cm dynamic type used across the Apollo family, image acquisition is not a compromise; the compromise, if any, lies in the mechanics and the space around the table.

Before you commit, list the examinations you expect each week, the share of stretcher patients and the heaviest patients you must handle. If those requirements fit the published capabilities and the supplier confirms the missing values in writing, a compact system can be an efficient choice.

Questions to ask the supplier

Ask for the tabletop dimensions and load capacity, the available options, the room drawing and power requirements, and the DICOM information for your PACS. For categories and prices in general, read about fluoroscopy unit pricing factors; we do not quote prices in articles.

Beckfinity specialists can prepare a quote and a layout for Apollo EZ DRF and compare it with the larger Apollo DRF for your room.