Philips Medical Systems showed a mid-priced version of its premiumPlatinum ultrasound system at the World Federation of Ultrasoundmeeting in Copenhagen and the European Congress of Radiology inVienna last month. The P700 sells for $35,000 less than

GE-CGR signed a preliminary agreement in February with VNIIEM,a central Soviet industrial ministry, for a Moscow-based jointventure to assemble, sell and service CT Max 640 scanners. GE is proceeding with the preparatory phase of this ventureand hopes

Picker International is reorganizing its European operations,partly in response to expected increases in health-care investmentsin the new democracies of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The Cleveland medical imaging vendor is forming a

Philips Medical Systems has halted manufacture of nuclear medicineimaging systems to concentrate on better business prospects inother modalities. The firm will focus on MRI, ultrasound, CT,x-ray, and radiation therapy, according to Hans van Bree,

Siemens and partner Loral Aerospace of San Jose, CA, were awardeda potentially huge contract last month for the supply of picturearchiving and communications systems to U.S. Army and Air Forcemedical treatment facilities. The Siemens/Loral group

Schering has received marketing approval in three European countriesfor its Echovist ultrasound contrast agent. The German pharmaceutical firm, first to enter the world marketwith an MRI contrast agent, received approval for Echovist inFrance and Italy

Proliferation of three-dimensional medical image processing systemswill accelerate over the next several years (see graph). A primeforce driving 3-D medical imaging is the growing processing powerand open-system architecture of medical workstations,

MR scientists and research labs in the Houston area are developinga proposal to create a regional center for NMR research. If successful,the center will pool local MR research efforts in both spectroscopyand imaging applications, said Dr. Russ Huson,

Siemens Medical Systems received Food and Drug Administrationapproval this month for its low-field 0.2-tesla Magnetom P8 MRIsystem. The P8 was developed by Siemens' Japanese joint venture,Siemens-Asahi Medical Systems. It was introduced into both

A state-sponsored study has found that Florida residents pay moreand are referred to diagnostic imaging services more often thanresidents of other states. The study attributes this imbalanceto the virtual monopolization of outpatient MRI and CT

Siemens decided this month to consolidate manufacturing of ultrasoundscanners into its Quantum Medical Systems subsidiary in Issaquah,WA. Production of the Siemens SI 1200 cardiac scanner will bemoved from San Ramon, CA, and combined with manufacturing

Another Japanese vendor is targeting the U.S. for sales of high-quality,low-cost MRI systems, but this time with a twist: the MRI technologyand manufacturing base is American. Otsuka Electronics (USA) of Fort Collins, CO, will apply forFood and Drug

GE Medical Systems has applied for Food and Drug Administrationmarket approval of a 0.5-tesla version of its high-end Signa MRIsystem. The vendor hopes to receive the go-ahead for U.S. salesby next month. The 0.5-tesla Signa will fill a gap between

Toshiba America Medical Systems of Tustin, CA, reduced the numberof its U.S. sales and service regions from four to three, effectivethe first of this month. TAMS will expand staff in the remainingzones to provide more support for district managers. The

While unit sales of mega-expensive positron emission tomographycameras are still nothing to shout about, the PET market showedbrisk growth last year. PET orders flattened out, however, inthe first half of 1991. GE installed or is in the process of

Mobile imaging provider Maxum Health filed a registration statementwith the Securities and Exchange Commission last month for aninitial public offering of common stock. Maxum intends to sell1.5 million shares at a proposed maximum price of $13 per

Scanditronix was omitted in our last issue from a list of vendors(SCAN 7/31/91) that have developed negative-ion cyclotrons--so-calledbaby cyclotrons--for the production of positron emission tomographyradiopharmaceuticals. Negative-ion machines don't

Food and Drug Administration approval earlier this year of technetium-labeledsingle-photon emission computed tomography cardiac perfusion agentsshould boost clinical demand for SPECT cameras. Market activitywill not pick up dramatically, however, until

ADAC Laboratories hopes to gain market leadership in nuclear medicineby 1994. Coming from a vendor that saw nuclear medicine revenuesslide 30% last year, that spells confidence. Overtaking Siemens,current nuclear leader, represents a major hurdle. To

Alliance Imaging, a La Palma, CA, imaging services firm, is goingpublic again. Alliance originally raised public equity througha listing on the NASDAQ exchange in 1987 (SCAN 9/16/87). But managementtook the company private with a leveraged buy-out (LBO)