MRI pioneer Van Horssen leaves Mobile Technology

One of the earliest and most successful innovators in the mobilediagnostic imaging industry is bowing out, at least temporarily.Ronald D. Van Horssen will leave his position next month as presidentand CEO of Mobile Technology Inc. of Los Angeles, the mobile imagingcompany he organized in 1983.

The 41-year-old Van Horssen cited personal reasons for hisdeparture.

"It's just an evolution; the natural course of things,"he said.

MTI became the world's largest mobile MRI provider throughits acquisition four years ago of Mediq's mobile CT and MRI fleet(SCAN 4/13/88). Mediq had been the previous mobile leader.

The privately held company expanded its mobile MRI base to100 systems by buying Linc Scientific Imaging a year and a halfago (SCAN 12/12/90). MTI currently boasts a fleet of 101 MRI systems,20 CT systems and seven lithotripsy units. Annual revenues totalabout $120 million.

Van Horssen's successor is Joseph W. Cilurzo, former presidentof Jobst, a Toledo manufacturer of vascular pumps and health-relatedequipment. His appointment to MTI's top spot will give Cilurzohis first exposure to the mobile imaging industry.

Brentwood Associates, a Los Angeles-based investment company,purchased a majority interest in MTI in 1990.

Van Horssen got his start in imaging services just as MRI emergedas a clinically viable diagnostic modality. His discussions withJohnson & Johnson in the early 1980s led to the introductionof one of the first superconducting systems designed for mobileuse.

Van Horssen plans a sabbatical at his vacation home at JacksonHole, WY. "I'm taking some personal time, then will planwhat to do for the next 10 years," he told SCAN.