Trex deal revives IMiG-MRI's fortunes

Trouble appeared to be brewing in mid-October for IMiG-MRI, when callers were informed that its marketing operation was on hold. The company, a joint venture between Intermagnetics General of Waltham, NY, and Surrey Medical Imaging Systems of Guildford, England, appeared to be struggling in its effort to sell IMiG, a 0.15-tesla scanner designed to be the least expensive whole-body MRI system in the world.

The situation was clarified in early November, when the joint venture's international sales and marketing functions were turned over to x-ray vendor Trex Medical. Trex sees the IMiG scanner as a valuable opportunity to expand its product line and believes that the scanner can be positioned as an adjunct for mammography and for MRI-guided breast biopsy.