Toshiba America Medical Systems has found a way to mix marketingwith a social conscience. The Tustin, CA, vendor launched a nationalprogram last year to screen high-school athletes for heart abnormalities,using Toshiba's SSH-140A portable color Doppler

Seven years of turmoil in the picture archiving and communicationsystems market has led to greater emphasis on productivity andcost-effective equipment. But radiology departments often assumethat adding new technology in PACS will automatically

A former Siemens top medical executive with a reputation as aturnaround specialist has assumed the reins of struggling fluoroscopyimage enhancement firm Fidelity Medical. Werner J. Haas replacedFidelity's previous chief, Efraim Landa, who resigned

Cytocare squelched a class action suit in May that had been promptedby the firm's declining fortunes in the lithotripsy market anda corresponding drop in stock price. A Santa Ana, CA, federaldistrict judge granted the firm's summary motion to dismiss

Pharmaceutical company Sterling Winthrop and researchers at MassachusettsGeneral Hospital have moved their joint contrast development effortinto high gear. The cooperative venture should broaden the applicationsof medical imaging in drug research, both

New Shimadzu Medical Systems general manager Takeshi Nakanishibelieves better service is essential if the Japanese manufacturinggiant is to expand its toehold in the U.S. MRI market. Shimadzu has placed only 12 systems since entering the U.S.market in

If there is a fast track for PACS, it is winding its way throughEurope. U.S. hospitals, weighed down by older computer and imagingsystems technology, lag behind their European counterparts inembracing standardized health-care computer networks.

Contrast injector supplier Medrad completed its initial publicoffering earlier this month. Half of the total one million sharesof common stock offered at $12 per share were sold as new sharesby the company and half were owned by existing shareholders.

A downturn in new freestanding imaging center growth, coupledwith buyer anxiety in other health-care sectors, has made 1992a disappointing year for new MRI system placements in the U.S. Manufacturers will sell about 500 new systems in the U.S.

MRI users have found their voices in calling the technologicaltune. Increased competition in the worldwide MRI market has givencustomers more leverage in the purchase process. They are demandingand obtaining warranties on MRI systems that have long been

Major changes are under way at Acuson. The long-time leader inthe supply of high-end radiology ultrasound scanners is broadeningits corporate focus and restructuring operations to meet the requirementsof an increasingly diverse user base. As clinical

Siemens Medical Systems became the first vendor to test demandfor high-field MR mammography with the recent introduction ofa double breast coil. But the coil could be a product in searchof a niche: While radiologists extol the promise of MR

Corporatization of U.S. imaging services will accelerate overthe next few years--and not only as an expedient reaction to rulesagainst referring-physician ownership of medical imaging centers.Corporate owners of multiple centers are better positioned

Dutch conglomerate Philips Electronics chose Michael P. Moakley,president of Philips Medical Systems North America, to replaceretired Hans van Bree as worldwide president and CEO of PhilipsMedical Systems International last month. Not only will Moakleybe

Silicon Graphics of Mountain View, CA, plans to renew its emphasison OEM relationships by forming a new division after merging withmicroprocessor firm MIPS Computer Systems.Silicon Graphics, which makes image processing workstations formedical imaging

John P. Heinrich is back in the MRI business, although indirectly.The former vice president of MRI at Johnson & Johnson's defunctTechnicare subsidiary was appointed president and COO of SummitWorld Trade in December. Summit, based in Hudson, OH, is a

This issue of DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING SCAN is number 120, marking fivefull years of publication. It has been a wild and fun five yearsfor us. Few industries other than medical imaging could offerso much corporate drama and technological razzmatazz.SCAN's

A June Supreme Court ruling making it easier for independent serviceorganizations to sue equipment vendors could prove helpful inlitigation filed against Siemens Medical Systems by a MichiganISO.Siemens recently asked a federal court judge to dismiss the

Cardiovascular Imaging Systems (CVIS) of Sunnyvale, CA, went publiclast month, raising about $10 million. The funds will help expandmarketing and development of intravascular ultrasound products,according to Richard M. Ferrari, president and CEO. CVIS

When GE acquired Paris-based Thomson-CGR five years ago, manypredicted that a serious clash of cultures would follow. Theyweren't disappointed. But out of the confusion created by turnoverin top management and jumbled product lines has emerged a