NMR of America closes unprofitable SF center

NMR of America closed a San Francisco magnetic resonance imagingcenter last month. The facility had remained unprofitable sinceits acquisition three and a half years ago. San Francisco DiagnosticImaging Center was one of four MRI centers NMR of America pickedup when it purchased Diagnostic Networks (DNI) in 1987 (SCAN 7/8/87).

The move to shut down this center will alleviate a drain onresources and help NMR of America support its accelerated centergrowth plans, said Joseph G. Dasti, president and CEO. NMR ofAmerica will concentrate on developing its own centers, althoughthe firm does not rule out the possibility of center acquisitionsor mergers, he said.

"Our most successful centers are the ones we have developed,"Dasti told SCAN.

The three other former DNI centers are in San Leandro, CA,Birmingham, AL, and Austin, TX. These centers have performed betterthan the San Francisco facility, which had trouble selling MRIservices with its mid-field Technicare scanner. The San Franciscomarket is characterized by demand for high-field MR imaging, hesaid.

NMR of America did not sell the San Francisco center becauseit financed the scanner with an operating lease. This was thecompany's only MRI unit running with an operating lease, he said.

Another problem with the San Francisco center was that theTeslacon MRI system had never been upgraded following the demiseof Johnson & Johnson's Technicare medical systems company.

"This machine was in dire need of upgrades," Dastisaid.

NMR of America embarked on an aggressive growth strategy aftera new board was elected in August and Dasti was appointed president(SCAN 9/12/90). New centers are being developed in the Chicagoarea (SCAN 12/26/90) and in Bel Air, MD.

The Bel Air center, announced last month, will be a multimodalityfacility and the first in the greater Harford County, MD, areato run a high-field MRI scanner, he said.