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This month's Society of Nuclear Medicine meetingin Orlando was proof positive that the recent slump in gamma camerapurchasing has not had a pronounced effect on technological innovation.Despite a plunge in orders that began late last year,

Imaging services provider MedicalDiagnostics (MDI) completed its acquisition of Meritus HealthServices, a provider of mobile CT, MRI and nuclear medicine imagingservices. Meritus is based in Roanoke, VA, and serves 17 hospitalsin Virginia, West Virginia

The downturn in the U.S. nuclearmedicine market hit Sopha Medical Systems last week. The U.S.subsidiary of French gamma camera maker Sopha Medical said itwould lay off about 9% of its work force in reaction to a declinein gamma camera orders over the

Novel engineering of ECAT ART aims for cost-efficient operation The nuclear medicine group of Siemens Medical Systems hopes to take some ofthe pain out of purchasing a new PET camera by introducing a newsystem that will sell for under $1

XPert Lays Base for Computer-aided Diagnosis Elscint will introduce a Pentium-powered nuclear medicine workstationat this month's Society of Nuclear Medicine meeting in Orlando,FL. The workstation, called XPert, will be the platform for

Technique Clears up Cardiac SPECT Images Attenuation artifacts caused by human anatomy have long been aproblem for nuclear medicine specialists doing cardiac SPECT.Anatomical structures such as the diaphragm, breasts and anteriorwall of the

Software Programs Improve Quantification As a mature modality, nuclear medicine has been forced to fendoff challenges from other technologies encroaching on its turf.The use of nuclear medicine in brain imaging, for example, hasplummeted since

Firm also reports drop in European sales of OncoScintNuclear medicine'stepid acceptance of monoclonal-antibody-based imaging agents istaking its toll on MoAb pioneer Cytogen. The Princeton, NJ, companyannounced this month that sales of its

Nuclear lab closing Omega West reactorThe Department of Energy is reconsidering its plan to restartthe Omega West reactor at Los Alamos National Laboratory in NewMexico in order to produce molybdenum-99, the raw material fortechnetium-99m. The

Drop in orders may signal prolonged slumpSales of nuclear medicine equipment remained level through muchof 1993, while orders in other modalities plunged due to apprehensionabout health-care reform. Nuclear medicine's easy ride could becoming

Neoprobe is establishingan Israeli subsidiary to run a radiolabeling facility for monoclonalantibody agents used in its nuclear probe technology (see above).The U.S. firm signed a memorandum of understanding with the Israelifirm Rotem Industries in

Underlying technology bought from PhilipsThe patent infringement legal dispute between nuclear medicinevendors ADAC Laboratories and Elscint took an unusual turn lastmonth. ADAC acquired patents from Philips Medical Systems relatingto gamma

Park Meditech of Toronto unified its corporate structure overthe past two months and gained a listing on the U.S. NASDAQ stockexchange (symbol: PMDTF) last week. The moves are part of Park'spositioning for a worldwide launch into the nuclear medicine

Nuclear medicine equipment vendors are having the last laugh overcritics who predicted in the 1980s the eventual demise of thegamma camera market. As 1993 comes to a close, it appears thatnuclear medicine will be the fastest growing segment of the

Trouble is brewing again at a Canadian nuclear reactor that isthe source of much of the world's supply of molybdenum-99, theraw material for the nuclear medicine tracer technetium-99m. Thedispute could result in higher prices for a number of

Sopha Medical Systems' short-lived effort to expand into the U.S.MRI market is about to come to an end. The nuclear camera andcomputer vendor's parent company is close to completing a dealto shed the MRI venture, according to Buster Houchins, vice

GE Medical Systems will consolidate its worldwide nuclear medicinebusiness near Milwaukee headquarters by the middle of next yearas a further step in its streamlining of global operations andexpenses. GE has initiated a transfer of nuclear

Sluggish sales of its flagship monoclonal antibody nuclear imagingagent have prompted Cytogen to restructure operations with anemphasis on development of peptide-based agents. While the Princeton,NJ, company will continue to aggressively market its

Nuclear medicine camera vendor Trionix will forgo exhibiting atthis year's Radiological Society of North America conference infavor of more specialized nuclear medicine meetings. The Twinsburg,OH-based company, known for its towering exhibit booth, has

While MRI procedures are slumping, the number of nuclear medicineprocedures, particularly in cardiac imaging, continues to rise.After plateauing for several years, nuclear medicine studies areincreasing in volume, according to John Vanden Brink,

Demand for premium nuclear medicine cameras should increase assophisticated techniques such as dual-isotope and monoclonal antibodyimaging proliferate. Realizing the potential of these techniques,however, requires corresponding improvements in camera

Manufacturers of SPECT cameras might improve equipment performancewith an advanced microcast fanbeam collimator developed by NuclearFields. The technology creates ultra-high resolution nuclear imagesthrough the use of uniform casting technology and

Toshiba America Medical Systems used a little marketing pizzazzto unveil an adjustable-angle dual-head gamma camera as a work-in-progressat this month's Society of Nuclear Medicine meeting in Toronto.Rather than display an empty mock-up of the camera,

Elscint has targeted nuclear medicine's growing cardiology segmentwith a gamma camera unveiled at this month's Society of NuclearMedicine meeting in Toronto. Dubbed Apex SPX CardiaL, the fixed90´-angle, dual-head unit spearheads a general upgrade

Multiformat camera maker Camtronics Medical Systems is pursuingOEM partners for its newest camera, following the expiration ofa sole-source contract with GE Medical Systems. Camtronics wasat the Society of Nuclear Medicine meeting in Toronto this

Medasys, a nuclear medicine computer manufacturer, and EncoreMedical Systems, a gamma camera refurbisher and reseller, haveagreed to merge. While details of the merger remain to be workedout and shareholder approval is required for both companies,

Nuclear medicine physicians have access to only one of two Foodand Drug Administration-approved SPECT brain agents because ofa combination of brain SPECT procedure sluggishness and U.S. antitrustregulations. Financial difficulties have apparently claimed

A recent court decision has given the nuclear medicine communitya forum in which to challenge the Nuclear Regulatory Commission'scontroversial license fees for handling radioisotopes. Nuclearmedicine practitioners charge that NRC fees have skyrocketed

The regulation of medical radiation came under fire this monthat a Congressional hearing held to follow up on reports of treatmenterrors in radiation therapy and nuclear medicine. The hearingcould be the first step in an overhaul of the way in which

Nuclear medicine advocates are claiming victory after the U.S.Department of Energy last month requested $2 million to studythe creation of a National Biomedical Tracer Facility to produceradioisotopes. Such a study would be a major step toward securinga