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Imaging on Tariff list | RP Now in FL | ITEM Launches Begin

April 5, 2018 Jake Fishman 5 min read

Radiology Partners Heads to Florida
Radiology Partners continued to take advantage of its recent $234m capital investment, buying Radiology Associates of Florida, which increases RP’s presence to more than 900 radiologists across 600 hospitals and 17 states. Radiology Associates of Florida is one of the largest private practices in the US, with 60 physicians, and marks the third top-25 US practice to “partner” with RP in the past six months. The announcement follows recent RP acquisitions in Louisiana, Southern California, and Arizona, creating quite an uproar among radiologists on the auntminnie.com message boards.

 

Medical Imaging on China Tariff List
Medical imaging may suffer collateral damage from Trump and China’s potential trade war, with several major imaging tech categories landing on the list of 1,300 products imported from China slated for 25% tariff increases. Included on the list are x-ray, ultrasound, MRI, Scintigraphic electrodiagnostic, and radiation technologies. The medical imaging industry has reason for concern, given the fact that many OEMs manufacture in China and a price hike may make imaging buyers delay purchases. However, the tariffs would give those who manufacture in the US a price advantage.  Its also very possible that, like other foreign policy moves to come from the White House, these tariffs will not become a reality.

 

ITEM Medical Imaging Conference Brings Japan Launches
Medical imaging OEMs hit the Japanese presses last week in preparation for the upcoming ITEM 2018 (International Medical Imaging General Exhibition) show in Yokohama, Japan, revealing a number of new systems and technologies. Although many models have already been announced in Western markets, some appear to be making their worldwide debut at ITEM and may expand to the US and Europe in the future.

  • Siemens announced the Japan launch of the ACUSON Juniper ultrasound system, which already debuted in Europe and the US.
  • Canon launched the Pe-ru-ru LaPlus tomosynthesis-compatible mammography system, which is based on the 10-year old Toshiba Pe-ru-ru Digital system and may remain focused on the Japanese market.
  • Hitachi released its new ALPHYS LF bone densitometry system, designed for lumbar and femur imaging, replacing the current DCS-900FX system in its portfolio with improvements to size, comfort, and body composition measurement.
  • Fujifilm announced the DR Calneo Dual, which as its name suggests performs two kinds of x-rays, performing general x-ray imaging and DXA bone density imaging.
  • Phillips announced the Japan launch of the Ingenia Elition 3.0T MRI system, highlighting its 50% faster performance, following similar announcements in the US and Europe earlier this year.

 

Plenty of Money in Digital Health
A recent report from Rock Health highlighted the flow of capital into the digital health space, with $1.62 billion spent across 77 deals in Q1 2018, putting 2018 on pace to surpass last year’s $5.8 billion in total digital health funding. Although generally not focused on medical imaging, the level of interest in digital health, and the category’s focus on data-driven personalization and efficiency is relevant to all parts of the healthcare industry.

 

Siemens Somatom Edge Plus CT Scanner Gets FDA Clearance
Siemens Healthineers announced that its Somatom Edge Plus single source CT scanner received FDA clearance. The Somatom Edge Plus is a net new addition to Seimens’ CT portfolio, positioned above the Definition Edge system and below the SOMATOM Drive and the SOMATOM Force dual source systems. The new 128-slice premium CT system is targeted at high-volume practices and emergency imaging environments, and features Siemens’ FAST integrated workflow with the FAST 3D Camera, the first AI-powered patient positioning system. Siemens emphasized the FAST Integrated Workflow and FAST 3D Camera throughout its launch announcement, noting that correct patient positioning reduces image noise, radiation dosage, and potentially repeat scans.

 

The Wire

  • Major national radiologist group Charlotte Radiology (128 doctors and practitioners, 18 hospitals) and private equity firm WCAS combined to create US Radiology Specialists with the goal of building “the premier physician-owned radiology partnership in the country.”
  • Brainomix, a UK company that develops AI software to quickly diagnose stroke patient CT scans, received a £7m ($9.8m) investment from a number of investors to commercialize its solutions globally.
  • Fujifilm announced a trio of deals with Hackensack University Medical Center (the new FDR AQRO and five FDR Go mobile DR systems), Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital (D-EVO Suite II x-ray workflow), and Self Regional Healthcare (eight FDR D-EVO II DR x-rays and four FDR Go mobile systems).
  • HyperMed Imaging gained CE mark approval for its HyperView medical imaging system, which is a portable diagnostic imaging device that is used to measure tissue oxygenation without contacting the patient.
  • Good news for the “AI will steal our jobs” crowd, research from Google Cloud suggests that AI can automate only a small part of radiologist analysis, and actual human radiologists are still needed to understand a patient’s history, communicate a diagnosis, and determine the right treatment.
  • Grand View Research forecast that the global breast imaging market will maintain a 12.2% CAGR, reaching $7.3 billion by 2024, with the fastest growth in the 3D tomosynthesis segment and within the Asia Pacific region.
  • Carestream announced that it completed a DR transition at Hendry Regional Medical Center in Clewiston, Florida with a deal that included a new DRX-Ascend System and retrofitting three existing X-ray rooms and one portable imaging system with DRX-1 Systems.
  • ViewRay announced the installation of its MRIdian MR linac image-guided radiotherapy system at the University Clinic Heidelberg in Germany.
  • Brainlab announced an agreement with long-time partner Varian to support interoperability between Brainlab’s ExacTrac x-ray-based positioning and monitoring system and Varian’s Edge radiosurgery and radiotherapy systems.
  • Wisconsin became the 35th state to enact a breast density notification law, following similar moves from Utah, Washington, and Florida last month.

The Resource Wire

 

 

 

 

 

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