Vendor held back launch to assure performanceGE Medical Systems is ready to begin commercial sales of SignaProfile, the Milwaukee company's 0.2-tesla permanent magnet openMRI scanner. GE officials made the announcement at last

Toshiba America Medical Systems of Tustin, CA, and the Mayo Foundationfor Medical Education and Research of Rochester, MN, have settledlitigation relating to an MRI artifact-suppression patent grantedto Mayo in 1987. Mayo filed the suit against Toshiba

Ultrasound vendor Acuson of Mountain View, CA, has hired WilliamCarrano as director of marketing. Carrano had been director ofToshiba America MRI in South San Francisco, CA, and had workedat TAMI since Toshiba's Japanese parent acquired the MRI assetsof

New rules do not guarantee boom in device salesThe Food and Drug Administration last month unveiled its proposedfinal regulations as required by the Mammography Quality StandardsAct (SCAN 12/15/93). The rules are intended to replace

GE Medical Systems is trying to overturn an arbitration panel'sruling that the Milwaukee vendor owes Star Technologies $9.1 millionfor allegedly breaking a contract between the firms. Star, ofSterling, VA, had been supplying GE with CT reconstruction

Toshiba America Medical Systems of Tustin, CA, has begun marketingits Aspire CI (continuous imaging) interventional package forthe top-of-the-line Xpress/SX CT scanner. The package, which wasintroduced as a work-in-progress at last year's Radiological

Trex also lays groundwork for forthcoming public offeringTrex Medical's pending acquisition of Continental X-Ray is thelatest move in Trex's ongoing drive to become the dominant independentx-ray company. Chances are it won't be the last

MRI vendor Fonar of Melville, NY, has received a patent for MRIbreast scanning of multiple patients, the company reported thismonth. The technique could be used with Fonar's new Quad seriesof MRI magnets, which are open on all four sides and can be

Varian Associates and Toshiba have extended their CT x-ray tubesupply deal for another three years. Under the new deal, Varian'sx-ray tube plant in Salt Lake City will supply Toshiba with severalthousand tubes, with the total value of the agreement

Printer manufacturer Seiko Instruments has released a new lineof dye sublimation printers that add support for the PostScriptprinting protocol. Seiko hopes that the 8.5 x 11 version of theprinter line will help solidify its position in the nuclear

Philips Medical Systems has apparently decided that the path ofleast resistance is the wisest course to take in MRI patent litigationwith Fonar. Fonar said last month that it has settled a lawsuitfiled last year charging the Dutch vendor with infringing

Japanese vendor mulls sales of Opart in U.S.The open MRI segment has been one of the few bright spots in anotherwise battered MRI industry, with vendors reporting strongcustomer interest in the moderate price and non-claustrophobicconfigurations

Vendors reach for mid-range segment withnew scanner introductionsat AIUM showUltrasound companies wait for modality to realizepotentialUltrasound proponents are fond of saying that their modality isthe technology of the future. When that

Star claims GE cutoff caused 90% sales dropImage processing developer Star Technologies was awarded a $9.1million judgment by an arbitration panel presiding over the company'sdispute with former OEM partner GE Medical Systems. Star accusedthe

GE Medical Systems of Milwaukee has received Food and Drug Administrationclearance for two new mammography systems, Senographe 700-T andSenographe 800-T. The systems were introduced at last year's RadiologicalSociety of North America meeting and are

Siemens Medical Systems has landed a massive $10.5 million contractto convert a California hospital into a filmless operation. TheIselin, NJ, vendor said it will begin work this summer on installinga Sienet PACS at San Bernardino County Medical Center in

GE Medical Systems has named Guy Rabbat as vice president of globaltechnology, a new position created by the Milwaukee vendor tooversee technical and engineering aspects of all its medical products.Rabbat has responsibility over R&D for hardware and

Deal parallels those with Siemens and DiasonicsALI Technologies is solidifying its position as the preferredchoice for ultrasound vendors who want access to an ultrasounddigital image management system but don't want to develop oneon their own.

Government facilities conduct leading-edge workTeleradiology and PACS vendors are enjoying a major upsurge inequipment purchasing by hospitals belonging to the Departmentof Veterans Affairs healthcare system. VA medical centers, likethose in the

`Double-donut' devices priced at $3 millionGE Medical Systems is poised to launch the next stage of its MR-guidedtherapy program with shipments to 10 investigational sites ofSigna SP, the new designation for the Milwaukee