Although many things change rapidly in the ultrasound industry,one quality has remained fairly constant: its competitiveness.For at least the last five years, for instance, the four leadingultrasound vendors and their respective market shares have

Toshiba America Medical Systems has completed restructuring ofits U.S. field sales and service organization for all imagingmodalities other than ultrasound. A two-zone system should improveToshiba's ability to respond to customers and coordinate

Following 16 years of marketing diagnostic imaging equipment andservices on a corporate level, Joseph M. O'Hehir has venturedout on his own as an industry consultant. O'Hehir served mostrecently as senior vice president for Maxum Health, a

Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Connecticut has acquired a 60% equityshare of Signal Medical Services, an imaging services firm basedin Farmington, CT. The deal was closed last month after Signalrejected an offer from venture capitalists from Atlanta.

Fee-per-scan payment plans are gaining popularity among institutionsconsidering fixed-site MRI. Greater difficulty for providers inqualifying for low-cost equipment financing has helped spur demandfor fee-per-scan financing. In a fee-per-scan plan,

ADAC Laboratories is riding high on sales of its Genesys SPECTsystems and Pegasys nuclear medicine workstation. The medicalimaging vendor, located in Milpitas, CA, will use this momentumto boost its business outside the U.S. and transfer R&D

Intaq International of Sydney, Australia, has entered into anagreement with Teltron to acquire a nonmajority stake in the U.S.medical imaging company. The new consortium will jointly developinfrared and multispectral imaging systems, according to

GE Medical and IBM have opted not to go to market with their combinedIntegrated Diagnostics picture archiving and communications systemstechnology--at least not this year. The two major medical imaging and computer firms will continueto collaborate on

Elscint is waging an aggressive campaign to increase its shareof the U.S. mammography market. The Israeli medical imaging vendorintends to introduce a high-end mammography unit in the thirdquarter of the year. Elscint will market the system--priced

While three-dimensional ultrasound is not yet as fast as two-dimensionalimaging, reconstructed 3-D images may provide diagnostic informationthat standard scanning techniques cannot provide, according toRalph Ranalli, product manager for Philips

Olicon Imaging Systems of Louisville, KY, has had more successin the teleradiology market than its former parent, Raytel. Progressin the business, however, has attracted some unwanted attention,especially from competitors who are trying to make the best

Tomographic Technologies (TomTec) of Munich has established aU.S. subsidiary to help commercialize its innovative cine three-dimensional(or 4-D, with time as the fourth dimension) ultrasound scannerfor cardiac applications. The German company, formed by

Results of a state quality-assurance inspection of mammographyfacilities in Michigan have left some manufacturers indignantand others exultant. But the findings have led to an increasein the number of mammography units in the state that now passnational

Upgrades to the Toshiba 0.064-tesla Access MRI system have improvedimage quality to the point where the system can compete head-to-headwith high-field scanners, according to Dr. Peter Rothschild, radiologistand director of Open MRI, a Hayward, CA,

Interspec reported this month that its radiology ultrasound R&Dand marketing agreement with Siemens is off. The Ambler, PA, cardiacultrasound supplier had been working with the large German multimodalityimaging vendor to develop a radiology

OEM software sales are a growing business for Cemax. The firmillustrated this fact in January by hiring a former Toshiba CTproduct manager as vice president of sales and marketing. Oran E. Muduroglu filled a slot that had been handled by presidentTerry

Philips Medical Systems North America took steps last month tocut costs and reduce redundant positions at its Philips Ultrasoundunit. The Dutch medical imaging vendor is careful to picture thesecuts as tactical and not as a reflection of reduced focus on

Fischer Imaging filed suit against competitor Lorad last weekalleging that the latter's StereoGuide stereotactic breast biopsysystem violates a patent covering features of its Mammotest stereotacticbiopsy system. Lorad received Food and Drug

An industry of protest has grown up around the five-year-old GEboycott over the company's involvement in nuclear weapons production.Infact, the Boston-based support group for the boycott, receivednationwide publicity last month when its film on GE,

Mobile MRI is a fast-maturing market. More systems are on theroad today than ever, and they are chasing smaller hospital accounts.Since many MRI units were purchased in the heyday of mobile industrygrowth during the late 1980s, they are beginning to