Two different approaches to the nuclear SPECT camera market wereon display at the RSNA meeting last month. There was some debateat the show over the benefits of dedicated versus general-purposenuclear cameras. GE offered a fixed-detector dual-head SPECT

Although potential expenditures for the U.S. military's medicaldiagnostic imaging support (MDIS) project may appear massive,the goal is to save money over the long run. The Department of Defense, unlike most civilian hospitals,can make the necessary

GE Medical Systems showed details of a new dual-head single-photonemission computed tomography camera dedicated to cardiology imagingapplications at the American Heart Association meeting last month.The vendor will have the fixed-detector unit, dubbed

Siemens formed a new ultrasound company as a final step in themerger of its existing ultrasound operations with that of QuantumMedical Systems. Siemens Quantum will seek to provide the productand market focus of a dedicated ultrasound vendor, said

Demand for remanufactured equipment is growing as customers seeka reliable alternative to used scanners in their quest for low-costmedical imaging systems, according to Matt Baroli, president ofRefurbco of Sylvan Lake, MI. "Remanufacturing bridges

Toshiba America Medical Systems has trimmed overhead and shiftedresources to field operations in order to compete more effectivelyin a sluggish U.S. medical imaging equipment market. The Tustin, CA, vendor cut 45 administrative and other positionsat

Image PSL (formerly Image Premastering Services) has installedits first analog picture archiving and communication system, labeledImage Access, at the University of Southern California in LosAngeles. The St. Paul-based optical technology company is

Resuscitated Japanese sales, blooming international market shareand a possible play in ultrasound should help Picker Internationalavoid sluggish sales in a maturing U.S. medical imaging market,according to Cary J. Nolan, president and CEO.With no new

Calumet Coach of Calumet City, IL, created a European subsidiaryin March 1990 to capitalize on emerging demand for mobile imagingoverseas. Calumet Coach PLC, based near London in Camberly, beganshipping specially designed 12.8-meter mobile imaging vans

Magnetic resonance research is poised for another technologicalleap forward with the clinical siting of three 4-tesla systems.GE, Philips and Siemens have been involved in 4-tesla researchsince the late 1980s, but only recently have installed their

Toshiba America Medical Systems closed its regional ultrasoundservice offices in Yonkers, NY, and Chicago last week. The vendorconsolidated ultrasound service responsibility for the easternand central regions into its Atlanta and Dallas offices. The

The safe harbor regulations have apparently dampened U.S. medicalimaging equipment sales. Some scanner purchases have been delayedas doctors who had been close to finalizing center limited partnershipspaused to consider the structures of their joint

The highest court in the German state of Baden-WÕurttembergdeclared unconstitutional a government procedure similar to U.S.certificates of need. The decision, made this summer, will beappealed to the German Supreme Court, where it is likely to

Picture archiving and communication system technology developedby Siemens and Loral Aerospace in their successful bid to supplyPACS to U.S. Army and Air Force hospitals (SCAN 10/9/91) was designedto meet the needs of large-scale PACS installations. There

Discovery Technologies was due to begin shipments of its upgradedFilmFax teleradiology system last month, according to MichaelBolser, vice president of sales and marketing. Bolser was appointedto his post in August. A veteran Acuson and ATL ultrasound

GE has introduced a third MRI platform in Japan and Europe. The0.5-tesla Vectra system sits in the middle of GE's MRI productline between the Signa--in both its 1.5-tesla and 0.5-tesla versions--andthe MR Max Plus. It was displayed by GE-CGR, GE Medical

The Western European market for medical imaging systems remainsdivided along national lines despite efforts to create a unifiedmarket within the European Community by January 1993. Imagingvendors active in Europe will keep their national sales and

Danube Hospital, a 1200-bed facility in Vienna, will begin trainingon a pioneering Siemens picture archiving and communications systemthis month. The digital system should be in full operation byApril, said Peter H. Grassmann, group executive for Siemens

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