Facility Management

McNeil: Rapid studies are needed for new product introductionsManymedical imaging vendors have shied away from funding outcomesresearch studies, despite the growing importance of such researchin assessing imaging equipment. Some companies are

Meeting may have alienated regulators A Congressional briefing held this month gave PET advocates achance to blow off steam accumulated while waiting years for Medicarereimbursement of the technology. The meeting provided PET proponentswith a

Imaging center chain National ImagingAffiliates (NIA) reported last month that it has merged with HeritageImaging (HIC). The combined chain carries the NIA name and hasa total of six imaging centers. NIA will maintain corporate headquartersin Nashville.

Strong sales of Sophycamera DST lead the chargeBy any measure, 1993 was a turbulent year for gamma camera manufacturerSopha Medical. The Buc, France, vendor paid competitor Elscint$7.75 million to settle a patent interference suit, was forcedto

Former PACS company president turns attention to telemedicineCombining teleradiology and videoconferencing applications onone hardware system has long been a dream of telemedicine advocates.That dream is a bit closer to reality since a Florida

Public pressure mounts to control modalityAn MRI site accreditation program under development by the AmericanCollege of Radiology could be in place as early as the end ofthis year, according to Dr. William G. Bradley Jr., chairman ofthe ACR's

Contemplating an underequipped national health-care network of62,000 hospitals and 200,000 clinics is sure to whet the appetitesof most medical imaging marketers. Toss in a roaring economy growingat double-digit annual rates and people get excited about

Imaging center firm Health Images of Atlanta has combined a nationalmanaged-care orientation with local, individualized center plansin an effort to boost income, according to W.A. Wilson, presidentand CEO. HI will hold off expansion of its large center

Signal Stream Technologies of Novato, CA, finalized its firstOEM supply contract with GE Medical Systems last month, providingadditional momentum to an already rapid business launch. The medicalimaging interface and image management company was started

For the past year proponents of PET have been facing the unsettlingprospect of a reformed health-care system without room for mega-tickettechnologies like PET. PET developer Positron, however, has notlet uncertainty over PET's prospects interfere with

HCFA's recommendation to grant Medicare reimbursementfor dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) exams for osteoporosishas led to an increase in Lunar's annual revenues, according tothe company. The firm reported a 4% increase in revenues for the

The recession in mobile imaging services last year created a trickle-downeffect for suppliers of component equipment, particularly mobilevans, according to one supplier. Lower MRI reimbursement rates made it harder for hospitalsto justify mobile

U.S. reimbursement prospects for bone densitometry are improving,with a growing list of state Medicare and Medicaid payors supportingthe procedure, according to David Ellenbogen, president of densitometervendor Hologic of Waltham MA. But the worldwide

Agfa has launched a major effort to provide digital and film imagingtechnology to U.S. hospitals operating in a restructured and capitatedhealth-care environment. The Ridgefield Park, NJ, vendor willhave a regionally based, six-zone sales and service

Regulatory turbulence unsettled the mammography profession andindustry this month. The experience may provide a lesson for forecastersof health-care reform: Political winds are often unpredictableand usually intense. Federal agencies made two major

As U.S. health-care reform builds pressure for cost-effectiveand efficient provision of medical services, surgery will followmedical imaging into the outpatient, ambulatory center environment.Although capital will continue to flow into imaging center

Sales of medical imaging systems in Europe will finish the yeareither flat or down slightly from 1992 on account of general economicsluggishness and the desire of government authorities to restraingrowing health-care budgets. Signs are, however, that the

Consolidation continues to elude the U.S. imaging center industry.Merger discussions between NMR of America and Medical Resourcesfell through last week. The two center firms had signed a letterof intent to merge earlier in October (SCAN 10/6/93).

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of MRI contrastagent Magnevist for whole-body applications, making the productthe first agent to be cleared for use outside the central nervoussystem. The FDA's action will improve Magnevist's

U.S. bone densitometry firm Lunar established a German subsidiaryin July to boost sales and improve service in the vendor's largestEuropean national market. While densitometry reimbursement hasdropped dramatically in Germany over the last several years,

Do you hear the sound of the other shoe dropping? Consolidationin the imaging center industry has long been anticipated. Theprocess may be on a roll now following passage of the federalMedicare/Medicaid ban on referring-physician ownership of

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

Any vendor--particularly a small one--hoping to break into theMRI market during these depressed times needs to find a more cost-effectiveMR mousetrap and a secure niche in which to sell it. Bone densitometrysupplier Lunar will use a North American MRI

When President Clinton unveiled his plan for reforming the nation'shealth-care system last month, he put an end to almost a yearof anticipation. For medical imaging companies, however, the formalrelease of Clinton's American Health Security Act of 1993

Picker International expanded its CT therapy simulation agreementwith Varian Associates last week to focus the joint marketingeffort worldwide, according to Christopher J. Peabody, Pickersenior vice president of international operations. This