Diagnostic Imaging Scan - March 4, 2008 - (Page 1) Business News For Medical Imaging “The Story Behind The Announcement” BUSINESS BRIEFS WEEK IN REVIEW Blockbuster attendance at the HIMSS meeting underscored growing interest in IT, a good sign for a floundering digital radiography market. ✱ Demand for digital Demand for digital radiography flattens in 2007 Reversal from years of double-digit growth signals trouble ahead Sales of digital radiography systems in the U.S. flattened in 2007, a marked change from the robust growth seen over the past several years. Consolidated estimates from vendors of DR systems indicate that units shipped to U.S. sites stayed about the same or dipped below the previous year. The results were all the more disappointing when considering that DR vendors had seen a rise of 25% in 2006, 32% in 2005, and 41% in 2004 compared with each preceding year. Some vendors framed the market change as reflective of an increasingly challenging marketplace that shows no near-term signs of abating. “A lot of hospitals are strapped for cash,” said Aaron Ybarra, product manager for xray equipment at Toshiba America Medical Systems. “They want to go with technology that will improve workflow. But this is a big investment.” M. Thomas Boon, president and CEO of Imaging Dynamics Company, laid much of the blame for last year’s lackluster results on a pending recession. “The overall market conditions in the U.S., whether housing, unemployment, or gasoline prices, have led to a conservative approach in regard to any capital equipment spending,” said Boon, who recently left Del Medical, another maker of medical x-ray systems, to join IDC. Fuji put a different spin on the market shift. Penny Maier, director of marketing for Fujifilm Medical Systems USA, described last year’s DR market in the U.S. as one that showed continued strength, noting that demand for units was comparable with that of the previous year in which vendors achieved record results. “We wouldn’t have so many vendors in this market if it wasn’t a viable one,” Maier said. Experiences at the dozen or so companies that sell DR or computed radiography (CR) systems differ markedly. Dave Widmann, general manager for the radiography and R/F business at GE Healthcare, speaks of a tremendous appetite for DR in the U.S. marketplace. Although acknowledging a softening in demand during the fourth quarter, Widmann said GE experienced extremely strong growth in the market last year. From a different perch, Anne Ji, marketing supervisor for Canon Medical Systems, has observed an industry-wide settling in demand for new units. This has benefited Canon, which supplies flat-panel detectors to OEMs as well as companies that upgrade analog systems to digital. The U.S. arm of this Japanese company had a banner year in 2007, she said, thanks largely to hospitals that chose to upgrade installed analog systems rather than buy new DR systems. “We anticipated this,” Ji said. “We were pushing upgrades, pushing the fact that [hospitals] didn’t have to buy new systems.” An indicator that complex forces may be at work is the growth seen last year in demand for analog systems, after several years of decline. In 2003, nine analog systems were sold for every two digital. By 2006, that ratio had shrunk to three to two. But this trend reversed last year as the number of filmbased radiography systems edged up 4% compared with the previous year, according to industry sources. Conventional systems have maintained their appeal and, with the leveling off in demand ✱ Carestream sharpens focus, ✱ Siemens unveils thin-client ✱ Commentary: Dollars radiography flattens in 2007 sheds Kodak distractions enhancements at HIMSS and sense in innovation A new service for migrating film or paper into a digital format debuted last week at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) meeting in Orlando. The new capability, eHealthLoader, complements other services developed by eHealth Global Technologies that draw together disparate medical records. The company’s eHealthConnect collects, digitizes, organizes, and stores medical records. HealthShare gathers, duplicates, and transports patient data from healthcare institutions to referring physicians. Philips has restructured its healthcare IT business to realign clinical information offerings, including image management and integration of patient monitoring. The move will promote clinical workflow and information transfer across multiple departments to support a broad IT infrastructure at customer sites, including the introduction of seamless electronic health records, according to the company. Besides radiology and patient monitoring, the realignment covers anesthesia, women’s health, and cardiology. Hand-carried ultrasound pioneer SonoSite has added two new products, one for ob/gyn and DR SALES IN U.S., 2003 TO 2007 Estimated growth in units sold 50% 41% 40 32% 30 25% 20 10 -1% 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 Source: Consolidated industry estimates Copyright © 1991-2008 CMP Healthcare Media Group LLC March 4, 2008
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