“I’ve had to rent equipment from other competitors to fulfill orders,” he says.

According to a recent report from the research firm, IMV, the last spike in MRI purchases from hospitals happened from 2002 to 2004, making the average age of scanners in hospitals today a bit older: from 8 years in 2007 to 10.9 years in 2011. The report also says that hospitals and other users plan on replacing aging MRI units in the next three years.

Medical Coaches, Inc. specializes in manufacturing custom mobile CT, MRI, mammography and PET trailers. When Oshkosh Corp. exited the civilian medical trailer side of its business earlier this year [see DM18457] Medical Coaches became the main player in the U.S. certified to custom build trailers with the machines of top OEMs. Chad Smith, marketing director at Medical Coaches, admits that MRI as a technology is typically seen as an older piece of equipment these days. Nonetheless, he says they are getting more MRI orders compared with PET/CT.

Jim Varcarolis, general manager and vice president of Insight Health, which providers mobile and fixed-site MRI and PET/CT imaging systems solutions to facilities around the country, says they are seeing robust business on the MRI side as well.

“Many hospitals have MRI in house and we’re seeing that because of the increase in the use of MRI, they either need additional time to go buy a second unit, or they have a system that may be a few years older and they are looking for higher-end equipment,” he says.

Still, despite MRI’s strength, Varcarolis says PET/CT is a growth modality.

“When we look at our assets and how much equipment we own and operate and when we look to the future, we probably have a need to grow on the PET/CT side, with growth still happening on the MR side but the growth is shifting and part of it has to do with changes in technology. So as technology continues to advance, so does the need for the advanced technology,” he says.

David Johnston, vice president of sales and marketing at Shared Imaging LLC says that PET/CT is their strongest growth modality, especially as the technology gains increased acceptance.

Mobile as a business solution
Mobile imaging is a flexible tool that can provide service on an interim basis, but also introduce service to a provider, says Tobias Gilk, president and MRI safety director at Mednovus, Inc. and senior vice president of RADPlanning. In other words, it’s a way for hospitals to test out patient volumes for an imaging modality.

“Mobile imaging is great for essentially doing market research, to find out what the demand is without committing the long-term capital and providing your own staff,” says Gilk.

December 2012 Magazine

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