Faxitron Cares

At Faxitron we remain committed to a mission that started well over 30 years ago -- To provide customers with the most advanced, highest performing specimen radiography, cabinet x-ray, and irradiation systems available.  But we think our responsibility to our customers extends well beyond the products and services we provide.  And that responsibility extends beyond our customers as well – to our local community and society at large.  In our effort to integrate social and environmental concerns into our business operations, we launched the Faxitron CARES program.

Cancer Awareness
Breast cancer will affect roughly one in every eight women at some point in their lives.  It is the second most common cause of cancer-related mortalities in women.  Although October is officially recognized as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we strive to promote breast cancer awareness year round.  Early detection is the key.  If you are a woman, get a mammogram.  If you love a woman, tell her to get one as well.

We are also committed to improving the standard of patient care for women going through the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.  For women undergoing  breast biopsy, our digital specimen radiography systems help reduce the amount of time the breast has to remain in uncomfortable compression and the amount of time the patient has to remain under anesthesia.  The same applies for women undergoing lumpectomies.  To learn more about breast cancer and how you can help raise awareness, visit:

www.komen.org

www.nationalbreastcancer.org

Research
From finding a cure for breast cancer to developing drought-tolerant, disease-resistant seeds to feed starving nations, basic and applied research is the key.  We support academic research programs that can utilize our technologies to further such efforts.  If you are in academia and think our products might play an important role in your research, please contact us.

Environment
As the forests of the world continue to fall at an alarming rate, we make every effort to reduce, reuse, and recycle.  Our systems require very large wooden shipping crates to safely reach their destinations.  Previously, every two systems we shipped out required roughly an entire tree to produce the crates.  Now our freight forwarding company unloads the crates at their destination and we pay to have them shipped back to us so we can reuse them until they are no longer structurally sound.  At that point, we have them recycled.

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive is European Union (EU) legislation regulating the disposal of and requiring recycling of waste electronic equipment containing substances hazardous to the environment.  We are actively working with our distributors in the EU to comply with this legislation and see this as an opportunity to help our customers outside the EU who are environmentally conscious and would like to voluntarily comply.  If you have a Faxitron system that is no longer in service and would like to know more about recycling x-ray system components that might otherwise contribute to contamination of the environment, please contact us.

To learn more about the WEEE (and RoHS) directives and why they are important on a global level, go see the “WEEE Man” if you live in the UK or visit “him” on the web at:

www.weeeman.org

Safety
“Safety” is a term that is often used rather flippantly by manufacturers and at the same time certainly expected by customers.  At Faxitron, we take it very seriously.  With respect to radiation safety, all Faxitron cabinet x-ray and specimen radiography systems have shielded cabinets and utilize redundant safety interlocks.  They are certified to comply with the strict standards set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Devices and Radiological Health, (21 CFR-1020.40).  To learn more about cabinet x-ray safety, click the following link to review FAQs found on the FDA's website.

With respect to electrical safety, we are the only manufacturer of cabinet x-ray and specimen radiography systems that goes to the significant additional expense to have our systems classified by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. in both the U.S. and Canada, with respect to electrical fire. We also support the educational efforts of the Electrical Safety Foundation to promote electrical safety.

As mentioned before, we think our responsibility extends beyond our direct customers, and this certainly holds true when it comes to safety.  Safety in the face of terrorism.  In a report due out soon from the Defense Science Board, the government advisory board concludes that all radioactive isotope-based irradiators should be replaced as soon as possible due to the fact that terrorists could easily gain access to the cesium-137 contained in them and create “dirty” bombs. Read the article.  Faxitron manufactures x-ray irradiators that can functionally replace isotope-based irradiators and remove the threat of easily accessible radioactive materials.  If you are currently using a cesium or cobalt-based irradiator, please contact us.

Faxitron. We CARE.