Sopha parent takes MRI effort; stays out of U.S.
Weakness in the global MRI market has prompted gamma camera developerSopha Medical of Buc, France, to withdraw its effort to marketa low-field MRI system in the U.S. Sopha's controlling interest in French MRI developer Magnetechhas been transferred to
Weakness in the global MRI market has prompted gamma camera developerSopha Medical of Buc, France, to withdraw its effort to marketa low-field MRI system in the U.S.
Sopha's controlling interest in French MRI developer Magnetechhas been transferred to parent company CEA-I, which will directMagnetech's product development and marketing, according to SophaMedical Systems vice president of sales Buster Houchins.
Sopha Medical is the parent company of Sopha Medical Systemsof Columbia, MD. The French firm purchased a 51% interest in Magnetechin 1991 (SCAN 5/22/91). Magnetech and the U.S. subsidiary sharedbooth space at last year's Radiological Society of North Americameeting.
Magnetech's 0.1-tesla scanner has been marketed in Europe,and Sopha was considering bringing the unit to the U.S. But ongoingsluggishness in the global MRI market--contrasted with continuedgrowth in nuclear medicine--caused the vendor to scale back itseffort and focus on its core modality.
"It's not an attractive time for a company to enter the(MRI) marketplace," Houchins said.
Sopha transferred its interest to CEA-I this spring, Houchinssaid. CEA-I is the for-profit division of the French government'sAtomic Energy Commission. It acquired a controlling interest inSopha earlier this year (SCAN 4/7/93).
Emerging AI Algorithm Shows Promise for Abbreviated Breast MRI in Multicenter Study
April 25th 2025An artificial intelligence algorithm for dynamic contrast-enhanced breast MRI offered a 93.9 percent AUC for breast cancer detection, and a 92.3 percent sensitivity in BI-RADS 3 cases, according to new research presented at the Society for Breast Imaging (SBI) conference.
The Reading Room Podcast: Current Perspectives on the Updated Appropriate Use Criteria for Brain PET
March 18th 2025In a new podcast, Satoshi Minoshima, M.D., Ph.D., and James Williams, Ph.D., share their insights on the recently updated appropriate use criteria for amyloid PET and tau PET in patients with mild cognitive impairment.
Can Abbreviated Breast MRI Have an Impact in Assessing Post-Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Response?
April 24th 2025New research presented at the Society for Breast Imaging (SBI) conference suggests that abbreviated MRI is comparable to full MRI in assessing pathologic complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer.
Clarius Mobile Health Unveils Anterior Knee Feature for Handheld Ultrasound
April 23rd 2025The T-Mode Anterior Knee feature reportedly offers a combination of automated segmentation and real-time conversion of grayscale ultrasound images into color-coded visuals that bolster understanding for novice ultrasound users.
