A Canadian picture archiving and communications systems developer is setting up a dealer network in the U.S. to sell its dedicated ultrasound sub-PACS product. Advanced Light Imaging Technologies (ALI) of Vancouver, British Columbia, has hired James Fankhauser, former director of sales for Quantum Medical Systems, to spearhead the sales effort.
Fankhauser, vice president of sales for international markets, is setting up a U.S. office for ALI in Bothell, WA, home of ultrasound vendor ATL. Fankhauser was director of sales at ATL before leaving to help found Quantum in nearby Issaquah, WA, said Christopher Hanna, ALI president and CEO.
"He (Fankhauser) will be rapidly setting up our territories in the U.S. That necessitated our locating in Bothell. Our R&D headquarters will remain in Canada, but we are moving a lot of our activities into the Seattle area," Hanna told SCAN.
Seattle is attractive to ALI for several reasons. Many of the company's engineers have undergone training at the University of Washington in Seattle. The area is home to Microsoft and Boeing, among other high-technology companies, and provides a plentiful source of engineering talent in both computer software and hardware applications, Hanna said.
Fankhauser's departure from Quantum follows that of another co-founder, Paul R. Norris, who left the ultrasound firm late last year to set up an R&D facility in the Seattle area for competing vendor Acuson (SCAN 12/12/90). Quantum was purchased last year by Siemens (SCAN 4/11/90).
Hanna founded ALI in 1987. The firm previously supplied workstations to Siemens on an OEM basis. Sales of the new ultrasound networking product, labeled Mini PACS, will mark ALI's first direct effort. The PACS company does not expect to establish OEM relationships for this product, Hanna said.
"There is a tremendous amount of good sales groups in the U.S., so we haven't felt the necessity to go OEM. Anyway, the OEMs focus on making ultrasound (scanners) or films. They don't need us," he said.
Although ALI is based in Canada, the U.S. will be its first market for Mini PACS. Half of the worldwide potential for the product is in this market, Hanna said.
Mini PACS acts as a local area network or buffer between ultrasound scanners and film cameras. The system includes optical disk storage, which will be a prime selling point. Digital archiving can be cost-effective, particularly in the obstetrics market, where laws require storage of images for up to 21 years, he said.
ALI decided to focus on ultrasound PACS because it is the fastest growing medical imaging modality, but also the least well served by existing PACS suppliers, he said.
"Most PACS companies, with the exception of the film suppliers, have ignored ultrasound. Yet ultrasound is one of the largest producers of film in radiology and obstetric departments. Most applications in ultrasound generate a fair number of images per exam," Hanna said.
