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)

Medicare's new capital reimbursement rules (SCAN 3/13/91) havenot dampened hospital interest in magnetic resonance imaging purchases,according to Steve Shearer, an analyst for MD Buyline. Demand for assessment of proposed MRI and computed

Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) firms are making progressin their efforts to standardize the bone-mineral density measurementsof competing DXA machines (SCAN 5/8/91). A committee composedof DXA manufacturers, researchers and other parties

Positron emission tomography users seeking less expensive equipmentfor producing PET radiopharmaceuticals have several options. Sometechnologies, however, are closer to commercial and clinical realitythan others. Several cyclotron manufactures are

Philips Medical Systems and AT&T restructured their CommViewjoint venture in picture archiving and communications systemslast month. The two partners had been discussing ways to reducecosts and make the venture more profitable since late last

Diasonics signed a cooperative technological partnership lastmonth with Silicon Graphics, a Mountain View, CA, image processingworkstation supplier. Although the medical vendor may use complete Silicon Graphicsworkstations in future products, Diasonics

Toshiba America Medical Systems has promoted several executivesin its ultrasound business following the departure of Daniel Duganto Acuson earlier this month (SCAN 4/10/91). Rick Smith, formerly national sales manager for ultrasoundat TAMS, has

Integration of technical standards for picture archiving and communicationsystems with those for radiology and hospital information systemsis one step closer to reality. Representatives of U.S. organizations working to establishstandards for

International investors are showing increased interest in U.S.medical firms, despite the appeal of a unified European market,according to Jack W. Cumming, president of WDI International. WDI offers strategic business consulting and investment

Scotsman Buildings entered the medical imaging market last yearwith an agreement to supply GE Medical Systems with modular imagingfacilities to service the vendor's U.S. military contracts. Scotsman, a division of the Scotsman Group of Baltimore, isin

The British government has submitted legislation to Parliamentthat would privatize the British Technology Group. No significantchanges are expected in the firm's patent licensing business,said Derek Schafer, president and CEO of BTG (USA) of Gulph