Diagnostic Imaging Scan - March 4, 2008 - (Page 2) one for musculoskeletal imaging. Based on the company’s MTurbo platform, M-OB/GYN Office supports tissue harmonic imaging, color Doppler, and advanced ob/gyn calculations. It comes with a curved-array transducer for abdominal scanning and an intracavitary version for pelvic imaging. The musculoskeletal product, S-MSK, is the company’s latest “S” class scanner. It will be sold primarily to rheumatologists, physiatrists, sports physicians, orthopedic and osteopathic surgeons, and physical therapists. Like others in the S class, SMSK automatically generates optimized images, includes a simplified dual-control interface, and can be carried, mounted on a pole, or fixed on a wall or ceiling for a zero footprint. Growing demand for digital x-ray systems boosted secondquarter revenues and earnings at Del Global Technologies. Net sales rose 11.7% to $29.9 million in the quarter ended Jan. 26, 2008. Net income rose 32% to $1.4 million, although per share net dropped to $0.06 from $0.09 due to share dilution. The company’s medical systems group net sales rose 13.9% to $27.2 million compared with the prior year’s second quarter, the result of higher international sales volume, particularly for the Apollo line of digital x-ray systems. PACS/IT vendor Amicas closed out fiscal year 2007 with revenues slightly higher and losses slightly lower in the fourth quarter compared with the yearearlier period. In 4Q 07, revenues were $11.7 million compared with $11.4 million. Net operating loss was $1.9 million compared with a loss of $2.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2006. For the year, the company tallied $49.9 million compared with $49.4 million in FY 06 and a net operating loss of $4.5 million compared with a loss of $4.9 million the previous year. QUICK HITS: OsiriX will demonstrate March 8 a 64-bit version of its opensource PACS workstation for the Mac operating system at the European Congress of Radiology in Vienna. The enhanced version is designed to offer the horsepower needed for DR last year, they have a slight edge over digital units in the raw number of systems shipped to sites in the U.S. One contributing factor is the substantial block of hospitals, imaging centers, and clinics that have not yet converted to PACS, according to Widmann. “Without the infrastructure of PACS, they are not as quick to convert to full digital,” he said. Boon concurs, noting that the variety of healthcare providers and institutions in the U.S. ensure that film will have a place in radiography for the foreseeable future. “Radiologists have been looking at film images for quite some time,” he said. “It is economically attractive, and it continues to be a viable alternative to DR.” Given the uptick in the sale of analog systems last year, sites appear to be replacing old analog systems with new ones, either choosing to stay with film or having chosen CR as their means of going digital and sticking with it. Fuji exec Maier estimates that CR maintains a three-to-one sales edge over DR, one that has held true over the past several years. Some industry pundits believe, however, that demand for CR will soon begin to wane. Joe Adams, senior marketing manager for radiography, R/F, and surgery at Philips Healthcare, said the productivity argument that favors DR, which does not require the handling of cassettes, is taking hold. Philips is not pushing customers in either direction, however. Philips offers both DR and CR, installed separately or together. One factor that may shift the equation toward DR and away from CR is the development of DR-based portables. Industry sources estimate that about 100 of these units were sold to U.S. sites in 2007 compared with virtually none during the previous years. Sales will likely climb further, as more systems enter the marketplace. Portables represent a new opportunity for DR, not only in the sale of more digital x-ray units but also as a way to dislodge CR. Until these digital units became available, hospitals had no choice but to digitize films or use CR if they wanted to go entirely digital. Vendors have only begun to offer portable digital products, raising the possibility that these systems could spur a revitalization of the trend toward DR growth. If so, last year may have been only a lull between the first stage of DR growth and the second, rather than the plateau of a mature market. Carestream sharpens focus, sheds Kodak distractions Management looks beyond quarterly results to build long-term value The hallmarks of Kodak Health can still be found in Carestream. Many of the people, the culture, the IT, x-ray and film products, and even much of the infrastructure are still there. When the Canadian investment firm Onex carved Carestream from Kodak in May 2007, it took along the infrastructure of purchasing and logistics, dispatch, and customer service. “But we put these assets to work in a different way,” said Carestream CEO Kevin Hobert. “We designed them around what our customers need.” The Eastman Kodak focus on digital imaging has been replaced by a focus on healthcare products and services. Bobby LeBlanc, chairman of the Carestream board and managing director at Onex, described the transformation as “liberating and scary at the same time.” Kodak’s preoccupation with consumer products distracted company leadership from healthcare, just as it subverted resources, assets, and capital. But Kodak was embedded in American history and its time-honored past provided comfort and strength. In the end, financial backing from Onex and a concentrated focus on healthcare have afforded Carestream the best of both worlds, according to Hobert. “If management can prove they can produce a reasonable return on capital, we will put it into the business.” As with other businesses that Onex has split from large companies, the goal for Carestream is to build a world-class firm, he said. Its focus on healthcare provides an advantage in the marketplace, according to Hobert. When Carestream was part of Kodak, the company was going through a major transformation and, as a result, constrained the healthcare unit in the amount of money that went to sales, marketing, and advertising. “Our budget was dictated by hitting overall company goals as opposed to trying to hit top- and bottom-line numbers in healthcare,” he said. “Now we are able to take the cash we generate and deploy it into our business to expand products and portfolio. It has energized our entire team.” March 4, 2008 Copyright © 1991-2008 CMP Healthcare Media Group LLC
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