Fast. Precise. Powerful. SMART-C® in the Alpinestars Mobile Medical Unit
Every weekend, the world’s fastest motocross riders push the limits of speed, power, and precision. And right alongside them, the
In remote southern Chad, access to essential medical imaging is far from guaranteed. Roads wash out. Equipment fails. Patients wait. And in the most urgent situations, the absence of diagnostic tools can change the course of a life.
Earlier this year, Dr. James Appel, a surgeon serving with Adventist Health International, confronted that reality firsthand when he encountered a motorcycle crash victim in distress. The patient’s leg was severely deformed, suggesting a displaced fracture and possible neurovascular injury. Dr. Appel rushed him to Moundou Adventist Surgery Center, the only orthopedic hospital in the region, only to learn their X-ray system was out of service.
But this time, the story did not end there.
Knowing the unpredictability of medical missions, Dr. Appel had carried a SMART-C® with him. SMART-C is an ultra-portable, battery-powered fluoroscopy system. In that moment, it became the hospital’s lifeline.
With real-time imaging from SMART-C, Dr. Appel confirmed a tibial plateau fracture with knee dislocation and guided surgical fixation directly at the patient’s bedside without a standard radiology suite.
Because he could see exactly what was happening inside the limb during the procedure, he and the team were able to restore alignment safely, protect tissue, and prevent long-term disability.
What could have been a devastating loss became a chance for full recovery.
Word spread quickly that a functioning imaging system was available. Over the next 48 hours, SMART-C helped enable orthopedic interventions for six patients who otherwise faced delayed or incomplete treatment:
• A 14-year-old girl needing revision after a tibia fracture
• A 9-year-old boy with infected hardware and a fracture gap
• A teenager with an unhealed femur fracture
• A patient with an infected intramedullary nail
• A patient with dead bone exposure after traditional healing attempts
• A woman with a broken drill bit embedded near her humerus
Each case demanded precise imaging. SMART-C delivered it wherever the patient was.
Dr. Appel later reflected:
“With the help of SMART-C and with a lot of exchanges and teaching, all the cases went well.”
— Dr. James Appel, Adventist Health International
Hospitals like Moundou Adventist Surgery Center face intense challenges:
Limited access to functional X-ray equipment
High trauma burden related to transportation risks
Frequent electrical outages
Few surgical specialists available
SMART-C is engineered for these situations: lightweight enough for air travel, fast to deploy, and fully battery-operated. Fluoroscopy that once required a fully equipped hospital can now reach the world’s most remote patients.
Portable imaging is changing what is possible for underserved communities.
This mission highlights a simple truth. Access to imaging should not define a patient’s outcome. By bringing the scanner to the bedside, SMART-C eliminates barriers that have historically delayed or prevented treatment.
Lives are being changed in the moment they need help most.
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