Medical Dealer - July 2014

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

JULY 2014 | WWW.MEDICALDEALER.COM

FIND YOUR PREFERRED VENDOR:

p. 36 RADIOLOGY : PRODUCT FOCUS

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A LT Interoperability: forging new working relationships for HTS and IT

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p. 46 MED/SURG: PRODUCT FOCUS

Telemetry Systems

All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Bayer, the Bayer Cross are trademarks of the Bayer group of companies.

© 2013 Bayer.

Carestream and Kodak are registered trademarks of Carestream Health and are used herein solely to inform as to the scope of the services offered by Bayer HealthCare. Bayer HealthCare is an independent contractor and no relationship with this provider should be inferred.

CARESTREAM. CAREFREE.

CR SYSTEM & DRY FILM PRINTER SERVICE:

ANNOUNCING A TRUE CHOICE IN CARESTREAM CR SUPPORT. Now you have a more affordable choice for Carestream CR service — with faster, and more responsive support from Bayer HealthCare Services.

Bayer HealthCare Services now provides a full range of offerings for Carestream CR, including contracts, preventative maintenance, and emergency service work.

To find out how we can improve your efficiencies and patient care, just give us a call at 800-633-7231, ext. 5179 or visit us at www.MultiVendorService1.com

1-800-633-7231 EX. 5179

www.MultiVendorService1.com

Understanding your facility needs, inside and out.

TECHNICAL

PROSPECTS

Experts in Siemens Medical Imaging

1-877- 604- 6583

10 0 0 S. County Road. CB, Appleton, WI 54914

technicalprospec ts.com

f o d e e n n i d n u o s a r t is your ul

?

E U C S RE AUE is defining the standard as your fu ll-service partner in the medic al ultrasound indus try.

An unprecedented reputation in refurbishing!

AUE is a leader in refurbishing ultrasound PCB’s, power supplies, monitors, and sub-assemblies. We utilize expert technicians and cutting edge technology to repair parts to the component level.

• Our large inventory of common failure components are pre-tested and can be shipped to your location overnight. AUE offers tech support on all systems and purchased parts. If you need it, chances are we have it!

• Transducers - AUE carries a large inventory of new and refurbished transducers for most major brands, including specialty transducers such as TEE and ICT probes.

AUE

ADVANCED ULTRASOUND ELECTRONICS

DE FINING THE STANDARD

866.620.2831 • www.auetulsa.com

“THEY COPIED

ALL THEY COULD FOLLOW, BUT THEY COULDN’T COPY MY MIND, AND I LEFT ‘EM

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BEHIND.”

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We are the innovators in biomed repairs.

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Sentinel Imaging offers a full range of new and pre-owned ultrasound imaging equipment and repair services. Our staff has over 40 years combined experience in the industry. Our professionally refurbished and reconditioned ultrasound equipment, parts and transducers enable healthcare providers to save thousands of dollars without sacrificing image quality, performance or reliability. As one of the nation’s fastest growing ultrasound refurb companies, we service all products we sell, as well as our customer’s existing equipment at a fraction of the Manufacturer’s costs.

CALL 888-838-7488 TO SAVE YOUR PRACTICE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON PREMIUM IMAGING EQUIPMENT AND SERVICE! Introducing our newest facility the Sentinel West Coast Division, located in Chandler Arizona. Focusing on buying and selling refurbished Transducers by name brands like GE, Philips, Hitachi and Siemens.

Thousands of items in-stock all backed by our Iron Clad, Full Service Warranty and ready for overnight shipment. Call 480-303-0026 for a no hassle quote.

Sentinel is one of the only independent groups in the industry that specializes in the refurbishing and repair of BK Urology and Surgical Transducers.

1172 Winola Road, Clarks Summit, PA 18411 TF: 888.838.7488 | P: 570.587.0161 | F: 570.587.0710

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CT • Discovery® VCT • Performix® Pro • D3191T • D3192T • D3194T • 2219500-3 • 2291563-2 • Revo 240G™• Hercules® • VCT • Performix ghtspeed® VCT • Lightspeed® Select • Lightspeed® RT16 • Lightspeed® Pro 16 • Lightspeed Pro® Xtra • Lightspeed® 64 • Optima™ VCT • Discove T • Performix®Call Pro • D3191T • D3192T • D3193T • 2219500-3 • 2291563-2 • Revo 240G™• Hercules® • VCT • Performix®Pro • Lightspeed today• D3194T for details. ghtspeed® Select • Lightspeed® RT16 • Lightspeed® Pro 16 • Lightspeed Pro® Xtra • Lightspeed® 64 • Optima™ VCT • Discovery® VCT • Performix 3191T • D3192T • D3193T • D3194T • 2219500-3 • 2291563-2 • Revo 240G™• Hercules® • VCT • Performix®Pro • Lightspeed® VCT • Lightspeed® S ghtspeed® RT16 • Lightspeed® Pro 16 • Lightspeed Pro® Xtra • Lightspeed® 64 • Optima™ • VCT • Discovery® VCT • Performix® Pro • D3191T • D3 3193T • D3194T • 2219500-3 • 2291563-2 • Revo 240G™• Hercules® • VCT • Performix®Pro • Lightspeed® VCT • Lightspeed® Select • Lightspeed® ghtspeed® Pro 16 • Lightspeed Pro® Xtra • Lightspeed® 64 • Optima™ • VCT • Discovery® VCT • Performix® Pro • D3191T • D3192T • D3193T • D31 19500-3 • Lightspeed® 64 • Revo 240G™• Hercules® • VCT • Performix®Pro • Lightspeed® VCT • Lightspeed® Select • Lightspeed® RT16 • Lightspe • Lightspeed Pro® Xtra • Optima™ • VCT • Discovery® VCT • Performix® Pro • D3191T • D3192T • D3193T • D3194T • 2219500-3 • 2291563-2 • Rev CT • Lightspeed® VCT • Hercules® Lightspeed® Select • Lightspeed® RT16 • Lightspeed® Pro 16 • Lightspeed Li Pro® Xtra • Lightspeed® 64 • Optim T • Discovery® VCT • Performix® Pro • D3191T • D3192T • D3193T • D3194T • 2219500-3 • 2291563-2 • Revo 240G™• Hercules® • VCT • Performix® ghtspeed® VCT • Lightspeed® Select • Lightspeed® RT16 • Lightspeed® Pro 16 • Lightspeed Pro® Xtra • Lightspeed® 64 • Optima™ • VCT • Discove T • Performix® Pro • D3191T • D3192T • D3193T • D3194T • 2219500-3 2219 • 2291563-2 • Revo 240G™• Hercules® • VCT • Performix®Pro • Lightspeed htspeed® Select • Lightspeed® RT16 • Lightspeed® Pro 16 • Lightspeed Li Pro® Xtra • Lightspeed® 64 • Optima™ • VCT • Discovery® VCT • Performix 3191T • D3192T • D3193T • D3194T • 2219500-3 • 2291563-2 • Revo R 240G™• Hercules® • VCT • Performix®Pro • Lightspeed® VCT • Lightspeed® S ghtspeed® RT16 • Lightspeed® Pro 16 • Lightspeed Pro® Xtra • Lightspeed® 64 • Optima™ • VCT • Discovery® VCT • Performix® Pro • D3191T • D3 3193T • D3194T • 2219500-3 • 2291563-2 • Revo 240G™• Hercules® • VCT • Performix®Pro • Lightspeed® VCT • Lightspeed® Select • Lightspeed® ghtspeed® Pro 16 • Lightspeed Pro® Xtra • Lightspeed® 64 • Optima™ • VCT • Discovery® VCT • Performix® Pro • D3191T • D3192T • D3193T • D31 19500-3 • 2291563-2 • Revo 240G™• Hercules® • VCT • Performix®Pro • Lightspeed® VCT • Lightspeed® Select • Lightspeed® RT16 • Lightspeed® htspeed Pro® Xtra • Lightspeed® 64 • Optima™ • VCT • Discovery® VCT • Performix® Pro • D3191T • D3192T • D3193T • D3194T • 2219500-3 • 229 vo 240G™• Hercules® • VCT • Performix®Pro • Lightspeed® VCT • Lightspeed® Select • Lightspeed® RT16 • Lightspeed® Pro 16 •

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WE DIDN’T INVENT CT. WE SERVICE CT BETTER. We offer comprehensive and personal expertise in servicing all major OEM medical imaging systems including the latest CT, MR, PET/CT, SPECT/CT and Nuclear Medicine technologies.

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MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

“ The distinction between a PC on your desk and

“If the OEM pushes these products out,

a medical device is that

the customer needs to know their business

medical devices need to

doesn’t have to necessarily suffer; that the

meet requirements set

manufacturer’s decision doesn’t necessarily

by the FDA and by the

force them to look for other models under

hospital’s accrediting

the OEM umbrella.”

52

organization.”

60

CONTENTS_Features 52 WHEN IT’S TIME TO CHANGE

In the healthcare world, where equipment life cycles are lengthening and capital budgets are stretched thinner by the year, “end of life” determinations can make for some difficult choices by health systems that may be particularly invested in a given technology.

60 C ORPORATE PROFILE

Healthcare providers are realizing the huge benefits that can be gained from the interoperability of medical device systems in terms of patient care and are further driven by 2015 deadline for establishing EHR meaningful use to capitalize on incentives in the HITECH Act.

Medical Dealer (Vol. 18, Issue #7) July 2014 is published monthly by MD Publishing, 18 Eastbrook Bend, Peachtree City, GA 30269-1530.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Medical Dealer at 18 Eastbrook Bend, Peachtree City, GA 30269-1530.

For subscription information visit www.medicaldealer.com. The information and opinions expressed in the articles and advertisements herein are those of the writer and/or advertiser, and not necessarily those of the publisher. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. © 2014

WWW.MEDICALDEALER.COM

MEDICALDEALER 11

CONTENTS_Departments

MD Publishing 18 Eastbrook Bend Peachtree City, GA 30269 (800) 906-3373 Fax: (770) 632-9090 Publisher

John M. Krieg john@mdpublishing.com

Vice President

Kristin Leavoy kristin@mdpublishing.com

Editor

John Wallace jwallace@mdpublishing.com

MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

INDUSTRY UPDATE 16 News & Notes 22 Company Showcase : Hilditch Group 26 OEM Updates 31 Block Imaging

MARKET ANALYSIS Radiology: PACS 35 Market Analysis 36 Product Showroom 41 Preferred Listings

Art Department Jonathan Riley Yareia Frazier Jessica Laurain

Account Executives Sharon Farley Warren Kaufman Jayme McKelvey

Med/Surg: Telemetry 45 Market Analysis 46 Product Showroom 48 Vendor Q&A 49 Preferred Listings

Contributors

Jim Fedele Myron Hartman Matthew N. Skoufalos Dan Bobinski

Accounting Sue Cinq-Mars

Circulation

Bethany Williams bethany@mdpublishing.com

SLICE OF LIFE 66 The Other Side 70 Pay It Forward 74 Success Story 78 Dan Bobinski

Web Department

Nam Bui Michelle McMonigle Taylor Martin

84 Categorical Index 86 Alphabetical Index

Proud supporters of

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Follow us on Twitter! twitter.com/Medical_Dealer MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

CONQUEST IMAGING

Ultrasound Expert

YOUR COMPLETE ULTRASOUND SUPPORT PARTNER PARTS/ PROBES

TRAINING

TECH SUPPORT

SERVICE

For the highest quality, lowest cost of ownership ultrasound support, Conquest Imaging delivers: Quality Assurance 360° Certified Parts / Probes • Every part is fully reconditioned to OEM specifications and goes through our proprietary Quality Assurance 360°

process to ensure technical and clinical performance as well as longevity.

• Every probe is thoroughly tested mechanically, electrically, visually, acoustically and clinically before it earns the Quality Assurance 360° Certified label.

Field Service 360° Powered by our First Time Fix philosophy and backed by Quality Assurance 360°Certified parts and probes, Conquest

Imaging’s service engineers are highly trained to quickly repair all major makes and models.

When you need technical support, you need an expert and you need them immediately. No phone trees, no delays and, best of all, no charge to our customers.

We support GE, Philips, Siemens and many others.

OWERED •P

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From ultrasound basics to the most contemporary ultrasound systems, Conquest Imaging delivers the most comprehensive training in the industry. Thinking of taking your service inhouse? Our Migrating Service In-House program provides a professional consulting and training program to ensure you and your team are successful.

ERED BY W

Training 360°

866.900.9404 WWW.CONQUESTIMAGING.COM Because Quality Matters.

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New & Refurbished Anesthesia Equipment

Oral Surgery Unit w/ vaporizer & stand $6,133

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New Mindray DPM5 $4,250-$6,250

Refurbished Fabius GS $15,900-$19,900

SimpleBlend O2 & Air Mixer $845-$1,145

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Refurbished Zoll Defibrillators $3,950-$6,950

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Paragon Service www.ParagonService.com

New&Refurbished Paragon/Penlon $16,900-$19,900

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INDUSTRY UPDATE_News and Notes

SUMMIT IMAGING ANNOUNCES SIX MONTH WARRANTY FOR PARTS AND SERVICES Summit Imaging has announced its new standard six-month warranty for all parts and services. The company’s new warranty sets the bar high for the ultrasound industry, in which standard warranties range from 30 to 90 days.

“Our team strives to provide the industry’s most reliable support for ultrasound replacement parts and transducer repairs,” said Summit Imaging Founder and CEO Larry Nguyen. “It’s due to their achievements that we are the first ultrasound equipment support company to offer a standard six-month warranty on parts and services.”

Summit Imaging models itself after “urgent care” in the medical industry and utilizes its customer service process to provide the fastest turnaround times for technical support, rapid repair and parts replacement. The company’s commitment to minimizing costly downtime for its customers is demonstrated by its average response times, including diagnosis of equipment problems in less than nine minutes; next day delivery of high-quality replacement parts; and an average of 48 hours to repair transducers.

Summit Imaging’s emphasis on core values, including innovation, reliability and customer satisfaction, has paid off with a 60 percent growth rate year-overyear and a 93 percent customer retention rate. The company envisions setting a new industry standard wherein total cost of support is low and repairs are fast and reliable, minimizing downtime for healthcare providers and patients alike. • 16 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

Staff Reports

ACERTARA ACOUSTIC LABORATORIES INTRODUCES ACTIVE-Z Acertara Acoustic Laboratories, an ISO 17025:2005 accredited and ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 13485:2003 certified ultrasound facility introduced its newest product, Active-Z, at the AAMI 2014 meeting in Philadelphia.

Active-Z is a low-cost, hand-held ultrasound probe testing device that provides biomedical engineering professionals with a point-of-measurement tool to rapidly and easily diagnose a suspected defective probe. Using a proprietary swept frequency technique, a broadband signal is transmitted through a patent-pending stylus into one of the pins of the probe connector; Active-Z then receives the returning signal through the stylus and measures the resultant complex impedance of the connection between the probe connector and the acoustic stack within the probe housing.

This technique allows the user to determine where a potential problem exists; for example a broken wire within the cable, a problem with the cable termination to the array, or a problem within the array itself, such as a dead

element or delaminated lens.

“Active-Z represents a new way to analyze the performance of an ultrasound probe and get to the diagnosis of the failure quickly. About the size of a smartphone, Active-Z is designed to be a low-cost, point-of-measurement device that could be easily carried by the engineer to the ultrasound laboratory within the hospital for probe testing,” said G. Wayne Moore, President and CEO of Acertara.

“Our design and development team, who invented FirstCall, The Nickel, and Aureon, has a long history of developing new and innovative ultrasound test devices. Active-Z represents an exciting continuation of that legacy.” • ADDITIONAL INFORMATION about Acertara can be found online at www.acertaralabs.com

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

_News and Notes

INTERMED SELECTED TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO KINDRED HEALTHCARE InterMed is proud to announce that the company has been chosen as the official service provider for the 10 Kindred Healthcare Inc. facilities in Florida.

InterMed has more than 20 years experience selling and supporting medical equipment. Established in 1990, InterMed has expanded its customer base, every year since it’s conception, by consistently looking for new challenges and opportunities. The company offers a full line of services including ultrasound, nuclear medicine, biomedical services, PACS, CT, MRI, and X-ray.

Kindred Healthcare Inc. is a healthcare services company that through its subsidiaries operates hospitals, nursing centers, home health, hospice and non-medical home care locations and a contract rehabilitation services business across the United States.

Kindred, through its subsidiaries, provides healthcare services in 2,313 locations, including 100 transitional care hospitals, five inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, 99 nursing centers, 22 sub-acute units, 157 Kindred at Home hospice, home health and non-medical home care locations, 105 inpatient rehabilitation units (hospital-based) and a contract rehabilitation services business. •

ERIC PADILLA JOINS COOL PAIR PLUS Cool Pair Plus is proud to announce and welcome Eric Padilla as the company’s Logistics and Quality Control Manager. Padilla will be dedicated to the continuous improvement of the Cool Pair Plus Quality Program.

He joins the CPP team with a master’s in business administration (MBA) with vast knowledge and experience in strategic business planning. He has worked with both Puerto Rico and U.S. government agencies along with large financial institutions implementing and developing strategic business models.

Padilla brings the knowledge and skill to continuously improve the CPP Quality Program to better serve customers’ needs.

Cool Pair Plus has been providing MRI cryogenic equipment and MRI service since 1995. The company offers exchange and repair services for MRI coldheads and compressors for Sumitomo, Balzers, Leybold, and APD. CPP has in stock MRI Flexlines and Adsorbers.

“Cool Pair Plus is committed to delivering quality products that meet or exceed our customers’ requirements and specifications. We also strive to produce defect-free and competitively priced products by employing continuous improvement techniques,” according to the company. “Cool Pair Plus is also committed to comply with the quality management system requirements of ISO9001:2008 and to continually improve the effectiveness of the quality management system.” •

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MEDICALDEALER 17

INDUSTRY UPDATE_News and Notes

A. RAY DALTON WINS AWARD The Red Cross gives out its Robinson Memorial Hospital Paragon Award “to those individuals who best exemplify leadership in the community, compassion for its people and dedication to the lifesaving mission of the Red Cross.”

The 2014 Paragon Award was recently presented to A. Ray Dalton of PartsSource.

“We are very proud of Ray and the leadership role he takes in business and our community. He is an inspiration to his employees, his friends and his family … demonstrating through his own actions that giving back to the community is vitally important,” said Douglas A. Brown, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, North American Imaging. “That’s why Ray and his wife, Jan, started the Dalton Foundation, a family funded philanthropic organization that concentrates on women’s health, prison re-entry programs and international healthcare.”

“Congratulations, Ray on being this year’s Paragon Award winner,” Brown added.•

18 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

Staff Reports

CROTHALL HEALTHCARE PARTNERS WITH HYGIENA FOR ATP CLEANING VERIFICATION SYSTEMS IN EVS DEPARTMENTS Crothall Healthcare has selected Hygiena to provide ATP cleaning verification systems to all Crothall environmental services facilities.

Hygiena’s SystemSURE Plus ATP system is a handheld instrument that measures adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a molecule found in all living things. Swab samples are quickly collected from patient rooms and other high touch point areas in a healthcare environment and measured immediately in the Hygiena instrument, giving instant feedback on cleanliness. Results are stored in the instrument and then uploaded to data tracking and trending software. The software’s preprogrammed and custom reports analyze the data and generate reports that are automatically emailed to user-designated recipients. These reports help facilities identify trouble zones, troubleshoot cleaning failures, and are helpful in environmental services team meetings to illustrate cleaning compliance and improvements.

“We have tried other ATP systems, but Hygiena’s system, customer support, training, and software provide an advantage over what we had been using, and economically, Hygiena allows us to provide the best system and service to our healthcare clients,” says Rich Feczko, Crothall National Director of Systems, Standards, Innovation, and Global Support.

Studies in recent years have shown the implementation of a monitoring program such as Hygiena’s SystemSURE Plus ATP Cleaning Verification System immediately improves compliance to cleaning procedures, resulting in a cleaner hospital, correlating with decreased healthcareassociated infection rates, and improved patient experiences as reported in HCAHPS scores. To learn more about Hygiena’s ATP Cleaning Verification system, visit www.hygiena.com.

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MEDICALDEALER 19

800-583-8587 www.APLUSMedica.biz info@aplusmedical.biz

A+ Medical Company, Inc. supports most manufacturers and modalities of medical equipment and parts to meet the individual needs of each one of our clients. A+ Medical Company, Inc. prides itself with being one of the leading providers of used medical parts and equipment, and we are prepared to fulfill all your medical product needs.

A+ Medical Company, Inc. is a Christian based, woman-owned business with more than 25 combined years experience in the industry. Our company is based in Sorth Carolina. We are a used and new medical equipment and parts company that supports hospitals, clinics, and independent practices world wide.

20 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

INDUSTRY UPDATE_Company Showcase

Special Advertising Section

HILDITCH GROUP

SPECIALIST MEDICAL EQUIPMENT AUCTIONEERS IN EUROPE

W

hile you may be aware of a well-known specialist medical auctioneer in the United States, did you know that the Hilditch Group established and defined the market for the resale of medical devices and health-related assets via auction in Europe over 20 years ago?

The specialist sell over 1,500 lots of medical equipment every month to dealers and end users of medical equipment, and buyers around the world visit their sales, or bid online on their website via a customized live online bidding system. A number of American dealers of medical

to medical equipment auctions and have highly developed our auctions and supporting services for our buyers. Our auctioneers and valuers have a wealth of experience in medical devices and their valuation and sale; which is backed by the technical knowledge of our medical engineers.”

equipment regularly buy equipment from their sales, as prices for used equipment are, broadly speaking, lower in Europe than in the United States.

Hilditch Group Marketing Manager Barney Greig says, “We are a true specialist when it comes

Auctioneer and Director Michael Hilditch who founded the company with his wife, Nicola Hilditch (previously a Radiographer), has been involved in the auction industry for over 40 years – much of which has been in a senior management role.

22 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

The company is the specialist in hospital site clearances in Europe and has conducted over 90 major hospital site clearances. It is currently involved in a site clearance of two hospitals (Frenchay and Southmead Hospitals) for North Bristol NHS Trust in the United Kingdom.

The range of equipment from this clearance is broad and will include the below categories.

• Imaging Equipment, including CT and MRI scanners • General medical equipment from all hospital departments • Generators • Clearance of 30 Operating Theatres • Catering Equipment The Hilditch Group has access to huge volumes of medical equipment as it has built relationships with NHS Hospital Trusts in the UK to the point that they now sell medical equipment and healthcare assets for about 98 percent of them. The Hilditch Group also sells for the full spectrum of vendors including public and private hospitals, lease and finance companies, manufacturers and other parties within the industry. This mix of equipment sources means that as well as older ex-hospital equipment, newer ex-lease and manufacturer-sourced equipment is available.

Due to the company’s “integrated disposal service” it truly does sell the full range of medical equipment and healthcare related assets for hospitals. Whilst Hilditch are highly MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

_Company Showcase

experienced in the sale of high-value imaging equipment including – CT and MRI scanners – they also sell everything from anesthetic machines to surgical scopes to hospital beds.

“We are upfront, honest and approachable and are always ready to discuss your equipment needs or any queries you may have,” Barney says. “We know that distance buying of used medical equipment is daunting, but with the right advice and research it is an excellent way to acquire equipment for resale or use.”

“We have built up trust and strong relationships with over 10,000 buyers – which is crucial in the auction industry,” Barney says. “We have a large number of buyers who never visit the saleroom but bid remotely as they utilize our condition reports.

A significant percentage of end users buy from us, as we can offer clarity on items’ condition and our medical engineering department can calibrate service and repair equipment so it is ready for use.”

“Whilst we sell medical devices via auction which are ‘sold as seen’ we can offer support to buyers and are extremely ethical in all of our dealings and careful to describe any known faults,” Barney says. “Medical engineers can check equipment for buyers prior to them bidding, so that they know the equipment’s condition and accessories (although these reports remain the engineer’s opinion only). It is important to realize that equipment may be as new and complete, or only suitable for spares WWW.MEDICALDEALER.COM

due to the clearing service we offer for medical stock, but if you are aware of this you can bid accordingly.”

In terms of buyer assistance Barney states “while we operate purely as an auctioneer of medical equipment and do not offer shipping services, we do offer assistance by advising on shipping companies and processing buyers VAT refunds (Value Added Tax that can be reclaimed if the equipment is exported, under certain circumstances).”

The Hilditch Group also offers an expert medical engineering division and its engineers have worked with most major equipment types and brands, due to their training, professional background prior to working for Hilditch and their day-to-day work.

MEDICAL ENGINEERING SERVICES • Repair and maintenance of all major equipment types • De-installation of equipment, including CT and MRI • Free basic or chargeable condition reports on items in their sales • Once buyers have purchased equipment they can conduct repairs, servicing and calibration.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION about the Hilditch Group, visit the company’s website at www.hilditchgroup.co.uk

MEDICALDEALER 23

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MEDICALDEALER 25

INDUSTRY UPDATE_OEM Updates

Staff Reports

FDA APPROVES GE INVENIA GE Healthcare has announced FDA approval and the U.S. launch of their new breast imaging technology, the Invenia ABUS. In keeping with a strong commitment to furthering the fight against breast cancer, GE Healthcare is excited to unveil the first Invenia ABUS installations with Fairfax Radiological Consultants (FRC) just outside of Washington, D.C., and Phelps Memorial Hospital in Westchester, N.Y., whose healthcare providers are now able to offer women with dense breast tissue an efficient, comfortable and non-ionizing screening solution.

The Invenia ABUS enhances the patient experience by using 3D ultrasound technology to comfortably and quickly image women with dense breast tissue in approximately 15 minutes with new features that conform to a woman’s body and provide more enhanced images. This launch comes at a critical time when there is growing awareness of the increased risk of cancer for women with high breast density. The more dense breast tissue a woman has, the higher her risk of developing breast cancer – oftentimes up to 4-6 times greater risk than women who do not have dense breast tissue.

GE Healthcare has designed the Invenia ABUS with the patented Reverse Curve transducer to conform to a woman’s anatomy, for better comfort and image performance. Further, the system uses Compression Assist, a feature that applies light levels of compression automatically to the breast for increased ease and image reproducibility. GE plans to roll out the Invenia ABUS nationwide in 2014, with health providers across the country. •

26 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

_OEM Updates

TOSHIBA’S AQUILION ONE FAMILY PUTS CUSTOMERS FIRST WITH THE INDUSTRY’S ONLY SCALABLE PREMIUM CT SOLUTION Leading healthcare providers now have a scalable top-tier CT solution with the launch of Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc.’s Aquilion ONE Family. As healthcare providers strive for more efficient, accurate and safe patient care, the Aquilion ONE Family offers systems that can match the clinical needs of today with a field-upgradable path for the future. The Aquilion ONE Family includes three systems: Aquilion ONE 320, Aquilion ONE 640 and Aquilion ONE ViSION Edition.

The Aquilion ONE Family expands the range of patients and diseases that can be diagnosed with cost-effective CT imaging. Aquilion ONE 320 covers 8 cm of anatomy in a single rotation using 320 slices and 0.35 second rotation speed.

With the Aquilion ONE 640, entire organs like the heart and brain can be imaged in a single 640-slice rotation, covering 16 cm. The dynamic volume imaging capabilities of this system can also capture both anatomy and function, which has proven to change the way physicians diagnose

diseases like heart attack and stroke with a single, comprehensive CT scan.

The Aquilion ONE ViSION Edition includes all the capabilities of the Aquilion ONE 640 and can accommodate even more patients, particularly those with high heart rates, with its faster 0.275 second rotation and more powerful 100 kW generator.

All three systems feature the industry’s thinnest slices of 0.5 mm, a large 78 cm bore and a 660-pound. capacity couch for bariatric imaging. To ensure dose and safety is not a choice customers or patients have to make, all Aquilion ONE Family systems come standard with Toshiba’s complete suite of dose reduction technology. This includes Toshiba’s third-generation iterative dose reconstruction software AIDR 3D, equipped with the requirements to meet MITA’s XR-29 Smart Dose standard. To improve workflow by making complex exams easier to perform, the systems also come with Toshiba’s Adaptive Diagnostics technology. •

ST. JUDE MEDICAL COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF CARDIOMEMS St. Jude Medical Inc. has announced that it has completed its acquisition of privately held CardioMEMS Inc., developer of the CardioMEMS HF System. The acquisition was completed on May 30, 2014.

“St. Jude Medical’s acquisition of CardioMEMS shows our commitment to providing innovative medical device solutions that reduce the burden of complex diseases like heart failure, both on patients and healthcare systems,” St. Jude Medical Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel J. Starks said. “The CardioMEMS HF System achieves this goal by setting a new treatment paradigm for heart failure that reduces hospitalizations and improves the quality of life for patients.”

The CardioMEMS HF System is the first and only FDA-approved heart failure monitoring device proven to significantly reduce hospital admissions when used by physicians to manage heart failure. St. Jude Medical will now begin its strategic launch of the CardioMEMS HF System in the U.S. The CardioMEMS HF System allows clinicians to stabilize pulmonary artery pressures by proactively managing medications and other treatment options while also providing an early indication of worsening heart failure, thereby improving heart failure patients’ quality of life, and reducing economic risks for hospitals and payers.

BofA Merrill Lynch acted as financial advisor and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP as legal counsel to St. Jude Medical. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as financial advisor to CardioMEMS and Cooley LLP as legal counsel. •

WWW.MEDICALDEALER.COM

MEDICALDEALER 27

INDUSTRY UPDATE_OEM Updates

Staff Reports

A NEW WAY TO MANAGE BEDSIDE ALARMS WITH SPACELABS’ ASSURANCE Spacelabs Healthcare has announced the release of its Advanced Alarm Management Software, Assurance, which provides clinicians new tools to effectively manage alarms and parameters from the bedside monitor.

“We not only want to make alarms fewer but also more clinically important,” said Nicholas Ong, Spacelabs President. “With Assurance, providers can rest assured they know what is going on with their patients even when they can’t physically be there.”

Assurance was designed to combat alarm fatigue by bringing the robust capabilities of full-disclosure to the bedside

with 30-second event review. It also helps prioritize alarms, making it easier to attend to high priority ones, and reduces noise in the hospital environment.

Highlights of Assurance: • All bedside events are reviewable from an Alarm History Bar up to 60 minutes • Review all parameters, including those provided by third-party devices • Rewind and view both leads of ECG at the bedside • Comprehensive alarm bar with ONE BUTTON access • Assurance is available for XPREZZON, qube and select UVSL monitors. •

JANIE GODDARD JOINS WELCH ALLYN Welch Allyn has announced that Janie Goddard has joined the company as executive vice president, strategic business units and marketing. Goddard will have responsibility as both senior business executive over the company’s four strategic business units (SBUs) and their P&Ls, and as corporate marketing leader. Her responsibilities will include Welch Allyn’s corporate and global product roadmap, market research, clinical, corporate communications and brand management.

Goddard will report directly to Steve Meyer, Welch Allyn president and CEO, and will work closely with the executive staff and board of directors.

“Janie is a healthcare veteran with extensive general management and marketing executive experience gained from a number of Fortune 500 companies which will allow her to hit the ground running,” Meyer said. “She will be a key leader in both creating and executing on our vision for growth, working closely with me, research and develop-

28 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

ment, corporate development, regional commercial leadership, new healthcare solutions and members of my staff. Janie is well-suited to be successful in the executive vice president, strategic business units and marketing position here at Welch Allyn.”

Most recently, Goddard served as vice president, sales and marketing for one of Covidien’s significant new businesses, with responsibility for leading upstream and downstream marketing, building go-to-market plans, driving sales execution,

and acquiring and developing the team to execute the business plan, working closely with research and development and operations and across other business units within Covidien. Her previous roles within Covidien include vice president, corporate strategic marketing; vice president, global franchise leader for BioSurgery; vice president, global marketing for BioSurgery; as well as vice president, global strategy and portfolio management for Surgical Devices.

Prior to Covidien, Goddard worked in a number of business and marketing leadership roles at Johnson & Johnson, Eastman Kodak and The Clorox Company. Before starting her business career, Goddard served Teach for America as both math teacher and team leader. She earned a B.S. in business administration from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business Administration, with a concentration in general management.

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INDUSTRY UPDATE_Block Imaging

By Jordan Batterbee

‘END OF LIFE’ MEDICAL IMAGING EQUIPMENT: What Does It Really Mean?

“E

nd of life.” Sounds morbid, doesn’t it? But before you flood your mind with images of long black cars and gothic letters chiseled in granite, let me reassure you that we’ll only be discussing the words as they pertain to medical imaging equipment.

“End of life” (EOL) usually implies that the product has reached the limits of its primary market viability and, as a result, support is either no longer available or very limited. If you have a system that is EOL the OEM may find it difficult to help you in servicing/supporting the unit.

As purveyors of refurbished imaging equipment we’ve seen the major OEMs assign EOL designation a number of times to reliable, workhorse systems that could potentially keep scanning if parts and engineers were available to nurse them through their occasional hiccups. But, in light of the never-ending stream of new and improved technology, these products are left behind and OEM services are refocused on new and late-model equipment.

This can be a serious sticking point for facilities struggling to make their way to that next imaging equipment upgrade. Fortunately, through years of talking and working with the parts and service departments of many OEMS, we’ve come to realize a few things concerning end of life imaging equipment.

WHAT WE’VE LEARNED Technical Support: It is our experience that when the OEM terms their product EOL the technical support for the unit is generally phased out.

Parts Support: One of the prompts for EOL designation is part scarcity.

When the parts suppliers that manWWW.MEDICALDEALER.COM

ufacture components for OEMs no longer supply the parts for a particular unit the OEM will generally begin to lean toward dubbing the system EOL. Field Service Support/Training: In the case of an EOL service call, the OEMs still try to provide field service support, but there is no guarantee that there will be a trained FSE available to help. If a unit is no longer being sold, then it stands to reason that engineer training for it will cease and any product knowledge specific to the unit will become more and more obscure.

WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT Technical Support Phase-outs: An OEM phase-out should direct a distressed user immediately to third-party service groups. Just because the OEM new-bloods don’t know your 1996 R/F room doesn’t mean an independent oldtimer can’t keep it kicking!

Parts Scarcity: Don’t despair just yet! The used parts market is a great place to find reconditioned and tested parts from older equipment.

Field Service Turn Downs: Once again, the solution for this lies in the wealth of experience available on the third-party market. Many independent groups are founded by or employ engineers that began their careers in OEM stables working and training on the equipment you’re now having trouble with.

Jordan Batterbee, SEO Copywriter, Block Imaging Inc.

WHEN ‘END OF LIFE’ IS REALLY ‘DEAD’ Just to be certain that we’re not building up false hopes of immortality for that analog mammo or single-slice CT, let me make it clear that not even the third-party market can cure every problem for every EOL system.

Some equipment is so old that used parts vendors have abandoned the last few bits and pieces based on space constraints. Equipment made by smaller OEMs can pose a problem as well. Frequently these companies are bought out by the GEs and Siemens of the world and their product lines are “EOL-ed” before more than a few hundred can be made.

The same is true relative to engineering. The independent old-timer might not make service calls anymore, and while he’s taught his own new-bloods the ins and outs of some of the older stuff, there’s only so much space in a newbie’s brain for things he may never use versus the material he’ll use every day working on machines from the big OEMs. However, with the help of the used medical imaging industry, it’s safe to say that a piece of equipment can outlast its OEM-designated end of life, so don’t let the phrase bring you down immediately. There are still companies that may be able to help you.

MEDICALDEALER 31

32 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

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PRODUCT FOCUS_Radiology_Market Analysis

PACS

A picture archiving and communication system (PACS) is a medical imaging technology that provides less expensive storage of images from multiple modalities. It also allows for easy access to the images once they have been stored.

In PACS, electronic images and reports are transmitted digitally eliminating the need to manually file, retrieve, or transport film jackets. The universal format for PACS image storage and transfer is DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine).

A PACS consists of imaging modalities, a secured network for the transmission of patient information, workstations for interpreting and reviewing images, and archives for the storage and retrieval of images and reports.

Combined with current and emerging technology, PACS has the ability to deliver timely and efficient access to images, interpretations and related data. This allows PACS to overcome hurdles associated with traditional hard copy-based image retrieval, distriWWW.MEDICALDEALER.COM

bution and display systems. As the price of digital storage decreases, PACS provide a growing cost and space advantage over film archives in addition to the instant access to prior images at the same institution PACS is by far the leading segment of the vendor neutral archive (VNA) and the PACS global market is expected to generate $3.4 billion in revenues by 2018, according to a report from MarketsandMarkets.

PACS dominates the market generating about 87 percent of total revenue, according to the report that included VNA and PACS installations at the radiology department and enterprise levels.

The radiology department PACS market depends heavily on PACS replacements and is projected to experience a stable compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2

By John Wallace

percent through 2018, according to the report published in the fourth quarter of 2013.

The enterprise PACS market is expected to grow at a much faster pace. The enterprise PACS market is predicted to surge at a CAGR nearing double digits to reach $510 million in revenue by 2018, according to the report.

North America, according to MarketsandMarkets, has the leading share of the both the VNA and PACS market sectors. North American has 64 percent of the VNA market and 48 percent of the PACS sector. The United Kingdom, Germany and France are strong players in the European market. The AsiaSouth Pacific region is considered the most promising region due to healthcare IT policies in Australia, China and Japan, MarketsandMarkets reported.

PACS technology is showing signs of growth in Latin America and in the Middle East, the report indicated.

The major players in the market include Acuo Technologies, Agfa HealthCare, BridgeHead Software, Carestream Health, Dell Inc., GE Healthcare, Fujifilm Corp., Merge Health, McKesson Corp., Philips Healthcare, Siemens Healthcare and TeraMedica.

MEDICALDEALER 35

PRODUCT FOCUS_Radiology_Product Showroom

Staff Reports

JULY PRODUCTS : This month, Medical Dealer explores current trends in PACS.

CARESTREAM VUE PACS ADVANCED

C

arestream’s fully featured Vue PACS provides enterprise-wide review, data management, distribution and archiving. Its advanced features eliminate the need for radiologists to switch between multiple workstations. Vue PACS can connect with multiple vendors’ PACS systems to create a global worklist so multiple sites can function cohesively. Lesion management is available as a native PACS clinical tool to simplify segmentation and analysis and a mammography module allows reading of all breast modalities including DBT exams from a single workstation. Carestream also offers a vendor-neutral archive, a zero-footprint image viewer for mobile access by physicians and a patient portal. • 36 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

PACS_Product Showroom

GE HEALTHCARE CENTRICITY PACS

C

entricity PACS with Universal Viewer – including advanced visualization, breast imaging, “Smart Reading Protocols” and RIS-IC integration – combines multiple viewers into one application and delivers new intelligent tools, enhancing clinical insight and enabling efficiency and productivity. The solution saves time by reducing swivel chair workflow and liberating radiologists to read studies anywhere there is an Internet connection; supports workflow efficiency through smart reading protocols and intelligent tools; reduces the total cost of ownership by simplifying the IT footprint with an interoperable workspace; and integrates with RIS-IC and the EMR to enable a full workflow suite.•

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MEDICALDEALER 37

PRODUCT FOCUS_Radiology_Product Showroom

Staff Reports

FUJIFILM SYNAPSE PACS

T

he cornerstone of Fujifilm’s integrated solution is Synapse PACS. Two main goals – enhanced communication and optimized productivity for radiologists in any imaging environment – were the impetus behind its development.

With the second-most widely used PACS system in the world, Fujifilm’s medical imaging and information management system, allows the archiving and distribution of vast amounts of image information from all modalities, managing it with a single system. Synapse has revolutionized the management of radiology imaging services, supporting image diagnosis with high-quality images, numerous image processing features and easy operation, affording exciting new possibilities in this rapidly evolving medical field. •

38 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

PACS_Product Showroom

PHILIPS INTELLISPACE PACS

P

hilips IntelliSpace PACS is the leading enterprise-wide medical image and information management system on the market today, providing clinicians and referring physicians with access to instant diagnostic-quality images anytime, anyplace throughout the healthcare environment. By using a single database, IntelliSpace PACS reduces archaic pre-fetching and auto-routing schema.

With an easy-to-use interface, and one-click access to images that are archived online, IntelliSpace PACS supports informed decision making at the point of care. •

WWW.MEDICALDEALER.COM

MEDICALDEALER 39

PRODUCT FOCUS_Radiology_Product Showroom

Staff Reports

SIEMENS SYNGO.PLAZA

S • • • •

yngo.plaza is the agile PACS and reading software, where 2D, 3D, and 4D reading comes together in one place. Drawing on Siemens Healthcare IT expertise, syngo.plaza is designed to meet the image reading needs by providing a wide range of applications and tools to support fast and efficient reading workflow including: Fast image access with high loading performance Quick and easy access to image mark-ups through the unique Findings Navigator Options for 3D/4D, Mammography, DSA and more at one workplace Tight “no-click integration” to syngo.via1 for efficient 3D/4D reading More information: www.usa.siemens.com/imagingsw •

40 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

PRODUCT FOCUS_Preferred Vendors

Staff Reports

PREFERRED VENDORS

PACS

• • • Multi Diagnostic Imaging Solutions 990 E. Cedar Street Ontario, Calif. 91761 SEE OUR AD ON THE Toll-Free: 800-400-4549 BACK COVER Phone: 909-591-6444 Fax: 909-591-5293 Email: sales@multiimager.com Website: www.multiimager.com Founded in 1983, Multi Diagnostic Imaging Solutions specializes in the latest imaging technologies including PACS, DR, CR, X-Ray, CT, C-Arms as well as a full line of surgical equipment for outfitting today’s modern operating rooms including tables, lighting, sterilization and much more.

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24/7 availability National Ultrasound: Service, Sales & Training East Coast Nuclear Medicine: Sales, Service & Training Southeast Biomedical Services: Comprehensive Programs & Equipment Repairs Jump teams available

RSTI Radiological Service Training Institute Anna Morrison-Registrar 30745 Solon Road Solon, OH 44139 Toll-Free: 800-229-7784 Phone: 440-349-4700 Fax: 440-349-2053 Email: registration@rsti-training.com Website: www.rsti-training.com For the last 28 years, RSTI has been the industry leader in multi-vendor diagnostic imaging training. We provide educational programs for the repair and maintenance of diagnostic imaging systems.

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PRODUCT FOCUS_Med/Surg_Market Analysis

By John Wallace

TELEMETRY SYSTEM MARKET EXPECTED TO GROW Healthcare is forever evolving as new discoveries generate new techniques.

Technology is a factor that impacts the delivery of healthcare on a regular basis.

One example of how advances in technology can shape the delivery of healthcare is medical telemetry equipment. It began when transmitters were introduced that could send multiple ECG leads simultaneous. Then, pulse oximetry was added to the medical transmitters. Next, came the introduction of a design that allows transmitters to be tuned to the many different European frequencies.

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The introduction of multi-band telemetry, incorporating pulse oximeters and other parameters into the patient transmitters themselves soon followed.

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meant that telemetry systems could be used for patients who required respiratory monitoring.

billion by 2019. Healthcare telemetry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.24 percent in the forecast period,” according to a recent report from MarketsAndMarkets.

The healthcare, vehicle and wildlife segments of the telemetry market cover more than 50 percent of the complete market share.

Schlumberger, IBM, Verizon Wireless, and Lindsay Corporation are some of the established brand names in this market.

“The telemetry market is estimated to be $72.42 billion in 2014 and is expected to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.31 percent to reach $103.42 billion by 2019 ” – MarketsAndMarkets The telemetry market is huge and consists of many different types of devices for various industries. The healthcare industry is one of the larger segments of an overall market estimated to be almost $75 million in 2014.

“The telemetry market is estimated to be $72.42 billion in 2014 and is expected to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.31 percent to reach $103.42

The report from MarketsandMarkets underlines the drivers, challenges, opportunities, and key players for all segments of the telemetry market, including the healthcare sector. It also provides information about the trends of these application segments across geographies. The report also highlights the emerging trends for the telemetry market.

MEDICALDEALER 45

PRODUCT FOCUS_Med/Surg_Market Analysis

Staff Reports

JULY PRODUCTS : This month, Medical Dealer explores current trends in Telemetry Systems.

DRÄGER INFINITY® M300

A

breakthrough in patient monitoring, Infinity® M300 provides the performance of a full-size patient monitor, packaged in a patient-worn telemetry device for adult and pediatric patients. An easy-to-see color display lets you view all monitored ECG leads, heart rate, and Dräger’s low-power pulse oximetry technology when in use. Built-in ACE® (Arrhythmia Classification Expert) and pacer detection algorithms enhance ECG processing and help to reduce false alarms. With additional review screens, you can easily identify patients, check monitoring status, and control alarms.

Based on reliable, industry-standard wireless technology, Infinity® M300 provides itself continuous standalone monitoring – even if the patient inadvertently moves out of the hospital’s wireless network coverage area.

46 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

Med/Surg_Product Showroom

PHILIPS HEALTHCARE INTELLiVue MX40

T

he familiar cardiac telemetry devices are changing – not simply to make them better and more inexpensive, but to accommodate current nursing practices, clinical workflows, and patient acuity. Innovation is evolving the ‘tele box’ to a smarter, tougher, and a more functional patient-worn monitor. Philips IntelliVue MX40 is small enough to be comfortably worn by ambulatory patients for continuous real-time monitoring of ECG, SpO2, impedance respiration and other vitals wirelessly, and allows clinicians to view patient demographics, alarm settings, histories and trends, as well as hear or silence alarms at the patient’s side.

WWW.MEDICALDEALER.COM

MEDICALDEALER 47

PRODUCT FOCUS_Med/Surg_Vendor Q&A

Staff Reports

VENDOR Q&A

TELEMETRY SYSTEMS

M

edical Dealer keeps readers updated on the latest in medical devices and equipment. This month we asked the experts at Pacific Medical to share their expert knowledge on telemetry systems.

What are the most important things to look for in a reputable third-party telemetry system provider?

You want someone who has experience, but the most important thing to look for is quality. You also want someone who is ISO certified with inventory and parts availability. Pacific Medical has ISO 9001:2008, 13484:2003 certifications. If you’re not dealing with the OEM, inventory and parts are critical. You want a company that can grow with the customer to match their technologies and support their telemetry department requirements. Technical support, after the sale is vital.

Is it possible to keep up with telemetry system technology without buying brand new? What are some of the newer technologies you offer?

Pacific Medical is very active in the hospital liquidation market. This helps us obtain a variety of telemetry systems and transmitters, including newer technologies, such as the MX40. In fact, we just finished a transaction where we supplied a customer a number of newer technology transmitters to replace missing units. It’s this kind of support that allows hospitals an opportunity to stay current with technology and save money by not having to purchase equipment directly from a costly OEM. Describe your telemetry system refurbishment process.

As soon as the equipment arrives, serial numbers are documented and the initial cosmetic inspection is preformed. It is transferred from receiving to our state-ofthe-art engineering department, where the unit is tested for functionality and 48 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

disassembled. All PCB boards are inspected for fluid invasion damage and corrosion.

Common failure components are also replaced, such as battery contacts and LED flex boards. The case is checked for minor cracks or flaws and replaced if necessary.

Once the unit is reassembled, it is passed to a secondary engineer for re-testing.

Upon completion for testing it is passed to our QC department for final inspection, cleaned and placed in inventory.

In addition, Pacific Medical also offers a vast selection of plastic parts, battery contacts, LED Flex for purchase.

What kind of custom options do you offer?

Each one of our quotes is custom. No matter how big or small. This includes multiple monitoring systems. Custom options are always fit to the customer’s needs, from replacing a simple transmitter, central station or full systems and installations.

Many department directors believe the OEM is the safest option for telemetry system service, but service contracts are expensive. How would you convince them that a reputable, ISO can provide the same level of service as the OEM? We feel we don’t just work at the same level of the OEM, but better. At Pacific Medical, we are a focused group of engineers and technicians who work exclusively on a specific modality, which in this case is telemetry.

While we understand most department directors would believe the OEM is the safest choice, our experience shows that our engineers have become experts after working on the same make/models for countless months and years. We believe hands-on experience is invaluable. Additionally, we

Pacific Medical tests products during its refurbishment process. always take advantage of training and educational opportunities for our engineers to strengthen their skills.

From a customer experience standpoint, we assign a team to work with each of our customers throughout the whole process. It is a personal experience, vastly different from the big manufacturers. The savings compared with the OEM will easily speak for itself.

What are the most important things to look for when seeking service for telemetry system devices?

You want a vendor whom you can trust. As the industry leader, we offer the dependability customers are looking for. Inappropriate control settings and frequency mismatching can easily add cost to a hospital’s bottom line. At Pacific Medical, our attention to detail and proactive customer service has bolstered our success by obtaining nationwide contracts for telemetry service and support. Our values expand beyond telemetry and are upheld in all aspects of our business as we continue to confirm the philosophy that quality and communication are the key components to a preferred vendor.

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PREFERRED VENDORS

TELEMETRY SYSTEMS

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Integrity Biomedical Services, LLC 701A S. 11th Street SEE OUR Broken Arrow, OK 74012 AD ON PAGE 51 Toll-Free: 877-789-9903 Fax: 866-332-4142 Email: ms@integritybiomed.net Website: www.integritybiomed.net Quality, Cost, Customer Service, Experience, equals Integrity Biomedical Services. We pride ourselves on offering the best in repairs, exchanges, and equipment of spacelabs patient monitoring equipment. Our lowest price guarantees we meet or beat ANY competitor. Our Technicians use proven techniques and experience to exceed industry standards. Make INTEGRITY the CHOICE for your monitoring needs.

MedEquip Biomedical 8405 NW 29th Street Doral, FL 33122 Toll-Free: 877-470-8013 Phone: 305-470-8013 Fax: 305-470-8016 Email: mikeb@medequipbiomedical.com mikel@medequipbiomedical.com Website: www.medequipbiomedical.com An ISO:9001:2008 certified company, MedEquip Biomedical is the nation’s premier third-party service parts provider and depot repair center for HP/Philips, GE/Marquette, Spacelabs, Siemens and Datascope patient monitoring equipment. Now repairing the Philips M3015A and the M3002A modules and the M4841A IntelliVue telemetry. Also providing quality pre-owned patient monitors for sale or rent.

Pacific Medical SEE OUR Repairs & Equipment AD ON PAGE 44 32981 Calle Perfecto San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 Phone: 800-449-5328 Fax: 800-449-5328 Email: service@pacificmedicalsupply.com Website: www.pacificmedicalsupply.com Experience our quality on all purchase and repairs: • Monitors • Modules • Telemetry • Patient Cables • Fetal Transducers • Infusion Pumps • Endoscopes • O2 Blenders & Gas Analyzers • Suction Regulators From a wide variety of OEM’s: Philips, GE, Datex Ohmeda, Datascope and more.

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MEDICALDEALER 49

PRODUCT FOCUS_Med/Surg_Preferred Vendors

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Southwestern Biomedical Electronics, Inc. (SBE) 2511 S. Harvard Avenue Tulsa, OK 74114 Toll-Free: 800-880-7231 Phone: 918-749-3204 Fax: 918-744-0716 Email: sales@swbiomed.com Website: www.swbiomed.com

Sage Services Group is the single source solution for all your patient monitoring needs. Whether it is depot repair service, the purchase of refurbished equipment, replacement parts or monitoring accessories we have a solution that fits your needs and budget. We service all manufacturers and models, take pride in our workmanship, and offer significant savings from the OEM by performing component level repairs.

SEE OUR Specializing in AD ON Spacelabs Health- PAGE 43 care equipment for over 35 years, SBE is the industry expert in Spacelabs technical support, repairs, exchanges, and the sell of Spacelabs patient monitors, modules, transmitters, and patient cables. We stand behind our product and honor our warranties, no questions asked.

Tenacore Holdings, Inc. 1525 E. Edinger Ave. Santa Ana, CA 92705 Toll-Free: 800-297-2241 Fax: 714-549-7835 Email: customerservice@tenacore.com Website: www.tenacore.com Tenacore is an SEE OUR AD ON ISO 13485:2003 PAGE 5 certified, FDA registered medical device manufacturer and service provider that specializes in the following: • Cost Reduction Strategy • Medical Device Manufacturing • Quality Medical Equipment Repairs • Multi-Vendor Service Provider • OEM-Compatible Parts

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USOC Medical provides worldwide biomedical equipment repair/sales solutions to health care facilities, clinics and medical companies of all types and sizes.

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MEDICALDEALER 51

WHEN

IT’S TIME

TO CHANGE

How end-of-life determinations affect clinical engineering departments

By Matthew N. Skoufalos

A

s the adage goes, nothing lasts forever. But in the healthcare world, where equipment lifecycles are lengthening and capital budgets are stretched thinner by the year, battling the eventual decline of a piece of medical equipment can feel a bit like pushing back the ocean with a leaky bucket.

nothing lasts forever.

So when the manufacturers of those devices announce that they’re discontinuing their production and support, their customers have yet another complication for which to account. Called “end of life,” or “end of support,” these determinations can make for some difficult choices by health systems that may be particularly invested in a given technology.

OBLIGATIONS AND AVAILABILITY At Siemens Healthcare North America, “We’re not really using the term ‘end of life,’ ” says Michael Wendt, Ph.D., Senior Vice-President of Imaging and Therapy Systems, “because, what is the end of life?”

Instead, Wendt said, Siemens prefers the term “end of life cycle” to describe the time after which the final unit in a particular line of equipment is retired from use by a customer. Siemens uses the term “end of support” to describe the point in time when the company can no longer guarantee spare parts – and consequently, support, for a given system.

“If you have a service agreement with the company that made your TV set 20 years ago, and the tube blows out or something goes bad, they just don’t make these components anymore,” he said. “We run into the same problems from time to time with the equipment that we have manufactured.”

Although manufacturers may endeavor to buy up old inventory or replacement parts if they can anticipate that specific components used in them are being discontinued, “at some point in time you have used all of those,” Wendt said. Simply replacing them with aftermarket or remanufactured components is out 54 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

of the question for a company like Siemens, he said, because “these systems have to follow a very specific design and engineering process.”

“As a medical device manufacturer, we have specific device obligations,” Wendt said. “We have tested our equipment and we have received approval because of our ISO 9001 certification, or our GMP practices, or our FDA approval, for the way these systems come into the market.”

The company is obligated to support its equipment for a minimum of eight years after the last piece of equipment rolls off the Siemens assembly line, said Wendt.

When Siemens can no longer supports the equipment, which is mainly due to a lack of availability of spare parts, Siemens offers its customers a different service contract with different deliverables.

“This new contract — ‘best-effort’ service agreement — states that the company will make its best effort to keep the system alive,” Wendt said, “with the understanding that if a particular part is no longer available as new or refurbished, we may not be able to help the customer.”

“Keep in mind there is this legal obligation [to support our equipment],” he said; “it’s not just at will that we can terminate and not terminate [our support]. We have pieces of equipment that are clearly significantly older than these eight years, and we support them much longer than these eight years; we have pieces of equipment out there that are 15 and 20 years old.”

At some point, Wendt said, even a company that wants to stand behind every one of its products has to acknowledge the advance of time and how that affects customer demands.

“Modern healthcare has moved on with new capabilities,” he said.

“If you go into missionary work and the choice is 20-year-old ultrasound machine or nothing, then I would say the 20-year-old ultrasound

machine is the best choice. If you go into an emergency room today and the choice is between an ultrasound machine from last year and an ultrasound machine from 20 years ago, I think the choice is equally clear.”

“If you look at the current healthcare climate or reimbursement climate in the United States, there clearly is a driver for increasing the quality of care while at the same time reducing the cost of the care that is being provided,” Wendt said.

“If one looks at the total cost of patient care, if you don’t do the best diagnostic work for a specific patient, will that result in follow-up cost in patient care that you as a provider have to provide?”

SPARKING A DECISION David Francoeur, Regional Vice President for Crothall Healthcare Technology Solutions, sums up end-of-life proclamations in purely economic terms.

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

“It’s a marketing ploy to get people to think about putting in for capital [equipment requests],” he said.

“Ninety percent of the time, that [end-of-life] letter is going to materials management or procurement.”

includes the FDA-mandated seven years of support; beyond that, the initial end-of-life notification usually gives customers a 12- to 24-month window to prepare for the official date.

ment, he said; devices that are heavily utilized may tend to wear out faster than those that are less seldom run. Sometimes it comes down to “whether or not it was a good product to begin with,” Francoeur said.

If you have a service agreement with the company that made your TV set 20 years ago, and the tube blows out or something goes bad, they just don’t make these components anymore. We run into the same problems from time to time with the equipment that we have manufactured.

— MICHAEL WENDT, PH.D., Senior Vice-President of Imaging and Therapy Systems

When that letter makes its way to individual department heads and biomedical staff, even then, it may not provoke an immediate reaction, Francoeur said. If parts for the discontinued device are prevalent in the aftermarket, any decisions on what to do may be deferred for as many as three to five years.

Although manufacturers typically estimate the lifespan of a medical device at seven to nine years, “quite frankly, the end of supportability can be three times that” in the aftermarket, he said.

“The stuff that’s made today isn’t made to last,” Francoeur said. “OEMs have figured out that if they build things so well, then people don’t replace them. There are hospitals that have X-ray rooms that are 40 years old and are still working fine.”

Most products are supported for “somewhere between 12 and 14 years,” Francoeur said, which WWW.MEDICALDEALER.COM

“In theory, they’re expecting that’s going to give people a window of time for replacing that device,” he said.

In reality, Francoeur said, the set of decisions triggered by an end-of-life notification are utterly contingent upon the type of device, its value to the institution, and its track record in the department.

“It depends on what it is,” he said.

DETERMINING FACTORS Imaging equipment, which is expensive to repair and replace, and often generates significant revenue for a hospital CT, will make a clinical engineer sit up and take note of an end-of-life letter, Francoeur said; yet there are plenty of workhorse scanners with low rates of failure and for which parts are easily obtained.

Other factors that influence the timeline of action include those affecting the wear and tear of the device. Stationary equipment tends to last more than portable equip-

If the discontinued device “is a piece of equipment that’s been a lemon; we’ve been struggling since the day we got it, I’m now quite nervous,” he said. “If something from Day One has been questionable at best — it’s always got little quirks, it’s always breaking down more than would be reasonable — when we get the notification, we’ll just ride it.”

From there, clinical engineering leadership will approach the department heads or purchasing and finance decision-makers with an assessment of the circumstances, Francoeur said.

“My justification is going to be one of two things: ‘We’ve got time to support it, don’t worry about it,’ or ‘I’m bringing this to your attention, and it’s something you should probably consider replacing within two, maximum, budget cycles,’ ” Francoeur said.

Where institutions can run into difficulty, Francoeur said, is when MEDICALDEALER 55

when it’s

they are heavily invested in a piece of equipment that is being discontinued.

“If I’ve got four or five or 15 of these things, there’s no way to be able to replace them all at once,” he said. “Replace half, 20 percent, at once, and I’ll use the others to support them.”

Trey McIntyre, president of the Fort Mill, S.C.-based International Medical Equipment and Service (IMES), says that sometimes an end-of-life declaration can drive customers “who have relied so heavily on the OEM service and parts in the past” into the arms of aftermarket parts, service and equipment providers.

“It’s certainly a scary proposition for the end user to be faced with losing OEM support,” McIntyre said. “If the OEM pushes these products out, the customer needs to know their business doesn’t have to necessarily suffer; that the manufacturer’s decision doesn’t necessarily force them to look for other models under the OEM umbrella.”

“Our customers often come to us after losing OEM support and have gotten plenty of life — and cost savings — out of a product deemed to be at its ‘end,’ ” he said. “Oftentimes, losing OEM support frees up the customer to find a better-suited option for their organization.”

McIntyre said that customers who are particularly attached to a discontinued piece of equipment will either find ways to sustain their existing inventory through nonOEM means, or simply buy different devices. When the former happens, companies like IMES can benefit from the new business; when the latter happens, they can also benefit from access to additional aftermar56 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

time to change

“If a large portion of the install base remains, it can drive the demand for parts support,” McIntyre said, “but to sell that equipment elsewhere may be a challenge if service options are limited for the end user.”

There’s all kinds of ways to maintain devices long after the manufacturer says they can no longer maintain the device or stop making parts.

— DAVID FRANCOEUR Regional Vice President, Crothall Healthcare Technology Solutions

ket inventory as the discontinued technologies are turned over in the healthcare setting.

McIntyre also pointed out, however, that the value of an end-of-life product doesn’t necessarily increase because it becomes scarcer.

‘THERE’S NOT ENOUGH MONEY’ The function of a clinical engineering team, essentially, is to make sure that the healthcare technology that is used within a hospital or health system is well-maintained and safe to operate, Francoeur said.

“Our whole function is to support it and maintain it for an extended period of time,” he said.

When capital budgets were plentiful, Medicare reimbursement rates were stronger, and end-of-life notice wasn’t an issue for a healthcare facility, hospitals would often look on the notice as an opportunity to try out a new technology.

“In today’s economic environment, there’s not enough money,” Francoeur said.

In turn, he said, third-party businesses enable hospitals to stretch those dollars and lengthen the functional lifecycle of capital equipment “because we have other means of getting parts and service” than from the manufacturer exclusively.

Options for healthcare facilities include shopping for parts internationally, cannibalizing older equipment for parts, or purchasing new, aftermarket parts that have been reverse-engineered by thirdparty vendors.

“There’s all kinds of ways to maintain devices long after the manufacturer says they can no longer maintain the device or stop making parts,” Francoeur said.

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

“In-house and third-party vendors have always got second sources.”

Sometimes an end-of-life notice will motivate some hospitals to “start dumping their product,” Francoeur said — which only provides another opportunity for those who retain the devices to source replacements parts.

During the time when hospitals

purchase original parts or original equipment exclusively, however. The money needed to fund such purchases is greater, Francoeur notes, because “as the supply goes down, the cost goes way up.” But some institutions will elect to pay the OEM price rather than expose themselves to future liability — real or imagined, he said.

tion and devising a comprehensive plan for addressing it.

“We in the profession are continually struggling to find ways to demonstrate our value to administration, such as capital procurement, regulatory compliance,” Francoeur said. “So here’s where the progressive biomed group and the

We in the profession are continually struggling to find ways to demonstrate our value to administration, such as capital procurement, regulatory compliance. So here’s where the progressive biomed group and the administrative group get together.

— DAVID FRANCOEUR need to make their capital acquisition plans, clinical engineering staff should be called into the process to estimate how much longer the institution can get by with the equipment in its current inventory, Francoeur said. But being invited to the discussion isn’t necessarily a guarantee that they will be heard.

“Clinicians, patients, finances; everybody’s got to contribute [to the discussion] and the hospital has to make the best decision that they can,” he said. “If we sit at the table, and it’s a progressive organization, and we can be frank with them, I can tell them, ‘I can better be able to support this [device] for you than this other product. The infusion pump might be 10 years old but I can still get parts for it. Why don’t you go get that CT scanner that will give you $10,000 a scan in reimbursements?’ ” Certain organizations still will WWW.MEDICALDEALER.COM

“If I’ve got an infusion pump and I don’t go back to Baxter to buy that part, and that pump causes a problem, even if it’s completely unrelated [to the device failure], it’ll play a huge part in court,” Francoeur said.

“That’s the reason why people who don’t understand the usability or the functioning of the device won’t take the risk,” he said. “That’s a direct correlation to the progressiveness of the healthcare technology management department. If I’m a non-progressive biomed department, I’m going to say, ‘You should replace this because I don’t have any options for you.’ ” Although moments like these can open the door for panic, Francoeur said, they also offer opportunity for the biomed department to demonstrate its value to the institutional leadership of the organization by assessing the situa-

administrative group get together.”

Francoeur recommends that biomed departments seize the initiative by drafting “a mini-business plan” of even a few paragraphs to make reasoned recommendations about how to proceed. Some unsupported equipment still has value from a training perspective; other devices could be sold off for spare parts, or passed along to another institution within the same network, or even donated overseas for medical mission work if it still functions appropriately.

“This is where a progressive organization with the biomed group intact can really provide value,” he said. “Unfortunately, now is not the time to build that relationship. It exists or it doesn’t. This could be one of those moments that you could take advantage of to demonstrate your value.”

MEDICALDEALER 57

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MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

CORPORATE PROFILE

CROTHALL HEALTHCARE

INTEROPERABILITY: FORGING NEW WORKING RELATIONSHIPS FOR HTS AND IT

“

In the healthcare community, medical device interoperability is on the rise. This trend is driven largely by the introduction of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act and by an increasing reliance on electronic health records (EHR).”5

In the past five years, the rapid pace of change in medical technology has been called “breathtaking.”3 And just as medical devices themselves have become more complex, so too have the interactions between devices and the extent to which devices are networked. Healthcare providers are realizing the huge benefits that can be gained from the interoperability of medical device systems in terms of patient care. They are further driven by the now 2015 deadline for establishing EHR meaningful use to capitalize on incentives in the HITECH Act. “The challenge comes in interfacing many different types of equipment from many different manufacturers with networks and EMRs that are unique for each healthcare organization,” explained HTS Director of Technical Solutions Jan Jones.

TWIN SONS OF DIFFERENT MOTHERS It can be a daunting prospect, and hospitals sometimes struggle to find their way through the process.5 60 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

First, there is the real-time need to keep discrete medical devices running in order to perform their functions for patient care. In addition, there is another level of complexity in creating systems of devices and establishing communication between systems. Networking devices that are not “plug-and-play” can be costly and risky, and require a team of experts to closely manage the process.

This new cooperative team of experts is evolving from two distinct operations — biomed, clinical equipment, or healthcare technology solutions (HTS), and information technology (IT) — and like the new network that the team is creating, it faces its own challenges in

interoperability. On top of understanding the complexities of medical equipment, HTS technicians are now being asked to understand the fundamentals of networking. Alternately, IT technicians must also now understand that every new instance of connectivity poses potential risk to devices, results, and patients. “One of the most nerve-racking tasks we run into these days is getting disparate medical devices to talk to each other over a network,” Jeff Kabachinski, IT World columnist, commented.2 There are numerous examples of what can go wrong in a networked environment if close collaboration is missing:4 medical device software may not function correctly as a result MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

WHO’S RESPONSIBLE?

of other software applications running on the same network; conflicts may arise between the need to control changes to medical devices and the constant need to upgrade antivirus software to protect against cyber attacks; the medical device may not operate properly when connected to a network containing other medical devices and other equipment. This can be a hospital administrator’s nightmare, resulting in more cost, unreliable results, and potential risk to patients.

TAKING THE LEAD Who should assume responsibility for the overall system? All team members are essential to the success of the task; yet, many feel that the most critical

managing partner of this collaborative team is the HTS department.

“The distinction between a PC on your desk and a medical device is that medical devices need to meet requirements set by the FDA and by the hospital’s accrediting organization. Therefore, they have to be managed a little differently,” Jones explains. “There are examples where an IT department has pushed out patches or upgrades 1. system-wide that have actually taken down medical devices. The patches or upgrades had not been validated for those systems, and there were issues with them running correctly.” Equipment manufacturers must validate patches and updates for their devices before they

Resolving interoperability problems can be challenging, especially if it is not clear who to turn to when problems arise. Since any enterprise-wide interoperability effort typically includes an amalgamation of solutions from multiple vendors connected with each other, no one vendor accepts responsibility for the performance of the overall system. It is usually up to the hospital to embrace this responsibility.

The hospital must therefore assign responsibility for the overall system to an entity before implementation and golive. In many cases, this entity is a specific 2. department within the facility (e.g., CE or IT). The responsible entity must establish a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities for all involved suppliers and department stakeholders (including IT, clinical, biomedical, and financial).5 —Health Devices, February 2013

3.

WWW.MEDICALDEALER.COM

MEDICALDEALER 61

CORPORATE PROFILE

can be implemented. They have to make sure that the safety and efficacy of the devices are not affected by the planned changes. From an FDA and an accreditation standpoint, the HTS team is the expert on medical device management. “This is why it is important that HTS plays a lead role in managing the process,” Jones asserts.

COLLABORATION IS KEY According to Gayle Couture, HTS RRM at Shands Jacksonville Medical Center, there is a collaborative approach between the Biomed and IT departments that has been successfully cultivated over the past decade. For many years before the Electronic Medical Record was established, medical devices have interfaced with the hospital’s Information Technology infrastructure.

At this point, Biomed and IT are well practiced on the varied events that consistently challenge both parties.

For example, there was an instance here at Shands that led to 62 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

the re-loading of software on a highend imaging medical computer, costing the hospital not only dollars, but also down time. This was due to a breach in the hospital’s IT infrastructure that would not have caused much commotion on a typical computer device; but, it caused the medical computer to crash. Hence, we have the emergence of the structured Biomed and IT Operations Support meetings.

The Biomed and IT departments at Shands remain vigilant in their duties to stay on top of group meetings, medical equipment implementation, and the convergence of wireless medical devices with handheld smart devices, to name a few.

“We have been ‘live’ now with our EMR for over 2 years with minimal downtime — due entirely to these collaborative efforts,” Couture commented.

It is Gayle Couture’s opinion that, as hospitals continue to grow and expand with the varying technologies available to medical staff and

their patients, the support team will need to grow with it. These technologies will demand a support team that consists of a multidisciplinary origin, with a collaborative vision for the future.

Both Crothall HTS experts agreed that the most important route to “Interoperability” was a mutual dedication to collaboration and a healthy respect for each team member’s area of expertise.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT Crothall Healthcare, visit www.crothall.com.

1. VanderClute, Sara. A Natural Partnership: Clinical

Engineering and Information Technology. 2012.

2. Moorman, Bridget. Biomedical Device Interfacing

to Clinical Information Systems: A Primer. IT World. 2012.

3. Logan, Mary and Stuart Gardner. Are you Ready to

Take Ownership of this Brave New World of IT

Integration? BI&T. 2012. In IT Horizons.

4. Rakitin, Steven. Networked medical Devices: Essential

Collaboration for Improved Safety. BI&T. 2009.

5. ECRI Institute. A Road Map for Medical Device

Interoperability. Health Devices. 2.2013.

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64 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

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MEDICALDEALER 65

SLICE OF LIFE_The Other Side

By Jim Fedele

ARE YOU REPORTING YOUR PROGRESS?

I

have had many conversations with colleagues about the reports we present to our bosses and customers. It is interesting to hear about the variations in the information that is reported.

Building a status report (annual or quarterly) can be time-consuming. Gathering data, deciding what should be included and formatting the information takes thought and preparation. We need to ensure that we are informing customers and not boring them with the details of our operation. I recently completed an annual report for a customer and struggled with these challenges. I would like to share some strategies that I came up with to overcome these challenges.

The activities needed to track and maintain medical equipment are many. Our core responsibilities are adding and deleting equipment and scheduling and repairing it. When you factor in regulatory agency inspections, recalls, incident investigations and the responsibility to lead a team of technicians, it is easy to understand how spending time on an annual report could get pushed to the bottom of the list of things to do. Pulling together a good report can take eight to 10 hours to complete. The time factor alone makes it susceptible to derailment since most of us barely get an hour without interruption. Working on the

66 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

I began by breaking my report into six parts: employees/team, work requests, inventory, savings, special projects and goals. Over the course of a month, I worked on each of these sections separately. report required a strategy that mitigated interruptions in order to keep the process moving forward. I began by breaking my report into six parts: employees/team, work requests, inventory, savings, special projects and goals. Over the course of a month, I worked on each of these sections separately.

Another obstacle that stands in the way of building a good report is our technical nature. As engineers and technicians, we love our acronyms and our data. We also have a mindset that solving problems is just part of our job. We tend not to recognize that the special requests and problems we solve should be shared with our bosses and customers because we feel they are just “part of our job.” The result is a report filled with graphs and data but it is often missing the many value added activities we do daily to assist our customers. Let’s face it; we love our

graphs and data and that is what we want to see in a report. If you are running a good program without any issues with core responsibilities, our bosses and customers need to know what additional activities we are performing to support the operation. Creating a report full of data and graphs about preventative maintenance (PM) and corrective maintenance (CM) only, tends to be boring and overly technical.

I felt like it took forever to compile my report this year. I had to search through the many work requests to identify and remember all the value added tasks and special projects that had been completed.

Then, I had to decide on the best layout. This time consuming process made me think that I need to find a better way to capture this data. The result of this is a new file where I now store value added activities and notable events so they can be easily MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

_The Other Side

BEST CHOICE IN IMAGING SYSTEMS

retrieved for the next report. I also learned that I should spend a little time on it monthly, while events are fresh in my mind to ensure nothing is missed.

When building my report, I kept in mind the purpose of the report.

What am I trying to accomplish?

As a contracted service provider, I need to illustrate to the customer that I am meeting and exceeding my commitments to them. I included the typical graphs of PM and CM completion percentages, but I also provided value added analysis such as identifying high-failure devices and preventable physical damage. I wanted to ensure that the contents are beneficial to the customer and their mission.

Finally and most importantly, I tried hard to keep it as non-technical as possible. My ultimate goal was to make the report understandable to people outside of my world and to “wow” them with all that we have done for the organization.

JIM FEDELE, CBET, has been with Medical Dealer magazine for more than 12 years.

He is currently the director of clinical engineering for Susquehanna Health Systems in Williamsport, Pa. He can be reached by email at info@mdpublishing.com.

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MEDICALDEALER 69

SLICE OF LIFE_Pay It Forward

By Matthew N. Skoufalos

TYLER’S HOPE FOR A DYSTONIA CURE

R

ick Staab believes that a disease that afflicts nearly half a million American children could be cured in 10 years.

In the past dozen years, Staab, the CEO-owner of Alachua, Fla.-based InterMed Inc., has become one of the foremost non-scientific experts on a movement disorder called dystonia.

That’s because two of his children, Tyler, 16, and Samantha, 13, have battled the disease most of their lives.

Dystonia is a painful neurological disorder that affects muscular movement; those who suffer with the disease, like Tyler and Samantha, can be subject to painful muscle spasms, involuntary repetitive movements, and interrupted speech. The illness is caused by signal interference in the brain that has been traced to mutated forms of a protein called Torsin A. But short of therapeutic treatments, which include the surgical placement of electrodes in the brain, there is little that can be done to permanently reverse the condition.

And that’s what so frustrates Staab: although it is persistent, dystonia is a non-degenerative illness — meaning that if a cure were found to help correct the neurotransmitters in patients’ brains, they would literally be able to walk, talk, and play like healthy, normal children. It’s merely a question of raising enough awareness about the illness in the hopes of funding the research necessary to resolve it.

“For a disorder that’s non-degenerative, that’s larger than most commonly known disorders com70 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

Rick Staab founded Tyler’s Hope for a Dystonia Cure.

bined, in terms of the number of people it affects, there’s no money and no one’s ever heard of it,” Staab said. “We joke that it’s the largest movement disorder in the world that no one’s ever heard of.”

While other diseases like cancer, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS routinely receive billions of dollars worldwide in annual funding, Staab believes it would take only a fraction of that money to effectively eradicate dystonia within a decade.

“I believe $100 million will cure this disorder, which is nothing in comparison to the funds we’ve put into anything else,” Staab said. “We could easily solve this. We just need to get to that critical mass, that $100 million.”

“I think somebody out there could cut that check,” he said. “I think one person could do that.”

In the past dozen years, while waiting for that white knight to

arrive, Staab has rolled up his sleeves and established Tyler’s Hope for a Dystonia Cure, a foundation entirely dedicated to dystonia research. The foundation applies 100 percent of every dollar it generates to funding dystonia research. All administrative overhead and operational costs are absorbed by Staab’s biomedical equipment and service business, InterMed. None of the donations are used to pay for Tyler or Samantha’s medical bills, Staab said; in fact, his children can’t even participate in some of the clinical trials funded by Tyler’s Hope because to do so would present a conflict of interest. But ultimately, he said, the work that the foundation does “is going to help them along with everybody else.”

“I did start this selfishly because I want to cure my kids,” Staab said.

But I can’t cure my kids without curing other ones. Half a million kids across the country are suffering from this too. If you can pay the researchers to do the research, then you can get that much closer.”

In the 12 years since the foundation was established, Staab said, it has helped raise awareness of dystonia as well as doing what it can to support more coordinated research efforts.

Tyler’s Hope hosts an annual, global summit for dystonia research to help gather top scientists in the field for information-sharing. The foundation helped launch a national patient registry for dystonia patients that grants them access to opportunities to participate in studies. Its latest initiative, Staab MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

_Pay It Forward

said, is to capitalize on a few state-level proclamations to push for national awareness of the disease by making September a federal dystonia awareness month.

“Through more awareness and better diagnosis, there’s more researchers doing the research,” Staab said. “Now they’re doing clinical trials with research that’s been done in recent years in the hopes of there being a cure. The research in DBS was being done when Tyler was the youngest kid in America to have that surgery. Now it’s not experimental anymore.”

Although advances like those are promising, Staab said, “short of a cure, it’s not good enough.

“We know we can do this,” he said. “This is one of those disorders that is in the .0001 percent of the things that are out there in our world … that is curable. [If ] we stop my son or my daughter from having dystonia, they go back to riding bikes or anything they could do before dystonia set in. Every year we do more research, we’re getting closer.”

“It’s purely a lack of funds,” Staab said.

In the meantime, he said, Tyler and Samantha aren’t hanging their heads. Both continue to earn high marks in school. Samantha has completed a 5K and plays on a traveling volleyball team. Youngest son, Luke, 9, who hasn’t shown any symptoms of the disease, “constantly is our best ambassador,” Staab said.

“They’re warriors,” Staab said.

“They make it easier on us because WWW.MEDICALDEALER.COM

they don’t complain. They never play the victim. They just are always smiling and doing well in school, and they have their struggles, but they work really hard at it.”

“I can safely say that they’re different from a lot of other people,” he said. “I feel blessed that they do act that way, because they do have struggles.”

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MEDICALDEALER 71

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MEDICALDEALER 73

SLICE OF LIFE_Success Story

By Matthew N. Skoufalos

OSF ST. FRANCIS MEDICAL CENTER/ CARESTREAM

W

hen OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Ill., was looking for a cost-effective way to upgrade its portable X-ray fleet, the facility considered a number of alternatives in its capital equipment search.

A large teaching hospital that performs about 125,000 diagnostic imaging procedures annually, St. Francis has a radiology department that includes a variety of imaging modalities.

By upgrading its CR-based portable X-ray devices, the department was searching for a way to bring a mature but much-needed imaging modality into the digital arena to improve throughput and efficiency, said Juanita Reader, Manager of Diagnostic Radiology In-Patient and Informatics.

“We wanted to go to a more digital environment but still be as cost-effective as possible,” Reader said.

The hospital considered several different vendors in its search, but ultimately selected Carestream Health of Rochester, N.Y., for its DRX mobile X-ray units. St. Francis purchased one DRX-Revolution Mobile X-ray as well as two retrofit kits that allowed insertion of DRX detectors into two of its older, analog, portable GE AMX 4 X-ray machines.

74 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

“Image quality, consistency, patient safety, radiation dose, we’re getting the same value and the same performance from the retrofitted systems that we are from the new DR systems,” Reader said. “They’re very economical for the amount of portables that we have.”

— Juanita Reader By inserting new DRX detectors into its existing inventory of equipment, St. Francis saved money over the cost of buying new systems, added new functionality to some of its workhorse devices, and helped improve its operations on a number of levels, Reader said.

“The DRX detectors that come with the DRX-Revolutions can be used in other imaging systems,” Reader said, “so if a detector is damaged or not working properly, or someone drops it, we can take another detector from any system and use it where it is most needed.”

Using DRX detectors also added other benefits, such as a 20- 50 percent reduction in the dose of radi-

ation to which patients are exposed during exams, Reader said. The wireless detectors communicate with the PACS, which means physicians and radiologists have instant access to images.

Additionally, when physicians order X-ray studies, the patients do not have to be moved because the portable devices allow the technologists to come to them, she said. Plus, the images captured are higher-resolution, which provides additional detail for orthopedic and spinal surgery cases, Reader said.

“Before computed radiography, we had regular analog film, and the film had to be taken out of the cassette, processed out of the machine, and then MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

_Success Story

OSF St. Francis Medical Center recently purchased a Carestream DRX Revolution Mobile X-Ray and retrofit kits for older machines.

you had the piece of film,” Reader said.

“The only way to get that into PACS was to digitize it, which was about a 30-minute process. With digital you’re probably at 15 seconds.”

Of the 3,700 portable X-ray exams performed monthly at St. Francis, about two-thirds of those are done with the Carestream portable units, Reader estimates. The quality of WWW.MEDICALDEALER.COM

the images produced by the devices requires “very little tweaking,” she said, and the technologists enjoy operating the devices because they have advanced features.

For starters, Reader said, the units have “a very good HIPAA solution” built in, whereby a technologist swipes into the device with his or her identification badge,

auto-populating login information.

“It prevents people from bypassing the step of identifying themselves or keeping people logged in and doing an exam under somebody else’s name,” Reader said. “It also helps eliminate misidentification of patients because you’re in the room, doing that patient, and you can send the image to the PACS system.”

Telescoping columns on the Carestream units allow shorter technologists to operate the devices effectively, she said. An image recall function allows the last patient exams to be brought back “so they know what technique was used previously,” Reader said.

Plus, since the device is wireless instead of tethered, “they don’t have to worry about cords and wires being run over” during transit, she said.

Finally, the 32 KW generator on the DRX-Revolution is useful for larger bariatric patients, she said.

The Carestream units allow for greater workflow as well, Reader said, with staff “routinely” getting its morning ICU portable exams completed and sent to PACS before their daily 6 a.m. deadline. Prior to their installation, she said, “We were lucky to get 50 percent done by 6 a.m.”

“With only three digital portables, we want to make use of them MEDICALDEALER 75

SLICE OF LIFE_Success Story

as much as possible,” Reader said.

“We’ve probably cut the timeframe [for the capture and delivery of images] in half.”

She also pointed out that doctors in the hospital appreciate what the portable devices can do, and often will wait for one to become available “because they want that image,” she said.

“If they’re putting an NG [nasogastric] tube or a catheter, any type of line, especially in the ICU’s, they’ll be able to see if they need to make changes,” Reader said.

The value provided to the imaging department at St. Francis through the integration of the Carestream portable units also extends to staffing, Reader said.

“We predict the more portable [units] that we introduce that are digital, the more productive our staff will become.”

With the value demonstrated by the Carestream retrofit packages, Reader said her department is hoping to convert two more systems from CR to DR in the next procurement cycle. That is equivalent to the price of a single, new portable digital unit, she said.

“Image quality, consistency, patient safety, radiation dose, we’re getting the same value and the same performance from the retrofitted systems that we are from the new DR systems,” Reader said.

76 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

By Matthew N. Skoufalos

Juanita Reader, Manager of Diagnostic Radiology In-Patient and Informatics, is pleased with the Carestream upgrade at St. Francis.

“They’re very economical for the amount of portables that we have.”

Reader foresees the departmental fleet of 12 portable units reducing to about seven of the retrofitted models, which will allow it to retire units that are 15 to 20 years old.

“They have been rebuilt; they have seen some hard work as far as portables go,” she said. “A couple of them we will be able to pass on to sister hospitals that don’t do the volume that we do, and by not having to replace, we’re saving money there too.”

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MEDICALDEALER 77

SLICE OF LIFE

By Dan Bobinski

WHY SOME PEOPLE ARE ‘DIFFICULT’ (AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT)

I

have a confession. When companies hire me to conduct a “Dealing with Difficult People” workshop, the content is pretty much the same as my “DISC Communication Skills” workshop.

The reason? People are “difficult” only because we haven’t learned to adjust our communication style with people who are very different from us.

In other words, people are rarely difficult, they’re mostly just different.

Learning how to communicate with different styles is fairly easy, but putting it into practice requires a conscious choice to step outside our comfort zone. For example, someone who likes taking time to examine the pros and cons of an issue will need to adjust quite a bit when talking with someone who prefers bullet points and quick decisions. Also, we have choice. We can criticize differences, or we can find value in them.

A great way to make headway with different (difficult) people is to adjust and meet them on their turf.

Think about it. If we expect others to meet us on our turf — and if everyone else is doing the same — then communication and progress will be difficult. This doesn’t mean we should be doormats, it means we must learn how to recognize the different “core” styles and how to adjust to each style.

78 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

Assuming you have an interest in improving things with the so-called difficult people, here are some tips for recognizing and then adjusting to people who are different from you.

First, communication style correlates strongly to behavioral style, so let’s look at how to determine someone’s “core” behavioral style. Start by picturing a circle with vertical and horizontal lines to create four quadrants, and think of each line as a spectrum. The vertical line (or spectrum) is labeled “task focus” on the top half and “people focus” on the bottom half. The idea is to first determine if someone is more focused on accomplishing tasks, or on the people doing the tasks.

A few examples may help. If you recall the original “Star Trek” series, Captain James T. Kirk was primarily focused on accomplishing tasks, as was his science officer, Mr. Spock. More modern examples of characters on the task-side of the spectrum include Jason Bourne and Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan from the TV show “Bones.”

On the bottom half of the spectrum we find “people-people,” such as most characters played by Robin Williams, Andy Griffith and Reese Witherspoon. If you’ve ever seen “The Office,” the character of Pam Halpert also lands on this side of the spectrum. It’s not that these people don’t value getting tasks

Dan Bobinski Workplace Consultant

accomplished, it’s just that they pay more attention to the people doing the tasks.

Granted, it can be hard to decide one way or the other because some people give equal credence to both tasks and people. Still, based on your observations, try to determine if a person is more focused on tasks or on the people doing the tasks.

Now consider the horizontal spectrum. On the right we have “higher risk/quicker decisions;” on the left we have “lower risk/slower decisions.”

To clarify, people on the left side of the spectrum are capable of making quick risky decisions, but given a choice, they prefer taking their time.

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might fall on this horizontal spectrum, Captain Kirk, Jason Bourne, Robin Williams and Reese Witherspoon tend to be more comfortable making quick, high-risk decisions.

Conversely, characters such as Mr. Spock, Pam Halpert, Dr. “Bones” Brennan and Andy Griffith prefer taking their time with risky decisions.

After familiarizing yourself with these two spectrums and observing people’s preferences, the next thing to learn is how the different styles prefer to communicate.

In the upper right quadrant we have people more focused on tasks who are comfortable making quick, high-risk decisions. This quadrant includes people like Captain Kirk and Jason Bourne.

The late Columbia University psychologist William Marston (creator of the DISC Communication model) called these people “dominant,” because they wanted to dominate any problem they encountered. They prefer sticking to business in most communications, and are not fans of idle chit chat.

They also prefer brevity, eschewing details. When talking with them, it’s best to be brief, select a course of action, and then move on.

In the lower right quadrant we find people like Robin Williams and Reese Witherspoon, folks who are also comfortable making quick decisions in the face of risk, but are more focused on WWW.MEDICALDEALER.COM

Learning how to communicate with different styles is fairly easy, but putting it into practice requires a conscious choice to step outside our comfort zone. people. Marston called such people “influencers” because they enjoy influencing others to their way of thinking.

Due to their strong focus on people, influencers can lose track of time and be forgetful of details, so it’s best to put details in writing. Also leave time for social interaction and keep things fun and enjoyable.

Folks in the lower left quadrant also focus on people, but they prefer taking their time with decisions that involve risk. This is the largest group in society (45 percent of the U.S. population) and includes characters played by Andy Griffith and the character of Pam Halpert.

Marston noted that these people prefer a “steady” work pace, and

they are not fans of change or conflict. Communication occurs best using a non-confrontational, easy-going approach. Also, don’t expect quick answers here, because people in this quadrant like time to think when making decisions.

Finally we have the upper-left quadrant of task-focused people who are not fans of quick, high-risk decisions. This includes the characters of Mr. Spock and Dr. “Bones” Brennan.

People in this quadrant are “conscientious” of rules and strive for accuracy.

Therefore, when communicating, be objective and keep the conversation as non-emotional as possible.

They often debate facts and data, and they’ll want time to analyze decisions for accuracy, so give them that time.

In summary, people are “difficult” mostly because we’re not adjusting our communications to others’ preferred styles. By learning the DISC quadrants and making a few adjustments to how we interact, we can turn many difficult situations into productive ones.

DAN BOBINSKI is author of the best-selling Creating Passion-Driven Teams, and president of Workplace-Excellence.com.

He is a trainer, speaker and consultant on workplace issues who travels internationally helping organizations of all shapes and sizes. Reach him at dan@workplace-excellence.com or 208-375-7606.

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CATEGORICAL INDEX

ANESTHESIA Paragon Service…………………………………………… 14 ASSOCIATIONS IAMERS…………………………………………………………… 34 AUCTION/LIQUIDATION Government Liquidation…………………………… 59 Hilditch Group Ltd…………………………………… 22-24 MedWrench…………………………………………………… 87 BATTERIES Eastern Diagnostic Imaging……………………… 21 Holden Battery Services……………………………… 68 BIOMEDICAL AIV, Inc.…………………………………………………………… 43 Bayer Healthcare Services………………………………2 Conquest Imaging………………………………………… 13 Crothall………………………………………………………60-63 Integrity Biomedical…………………………………… 51 InterMed Biomed………………………………………… 58 Maull Biomedical Training, LLC………………… 32 Medical Specialties Distributors… 19, 25, 33 MedWrench…………………………………………………… 87 Ozark Biomedical………………………………………… 32 Tenacore Holdings, Inc.……………………………………5

International Medical Equipment & Service………………………………………………………… 41 J & M Trading…………………………………………………… 64 KEI Medical Imaging Services…………………… 25 Technical Prospects…………………………………………3

LIGHTS Bryton Corporation……………………………………… 19

DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING A+ Medical Company Inc.…………………………… 20 Brandywine Imaging, Inc.…………………………… 29 Eastern Diagnostic Imaging……………………… 21 J & M Trading…………………………………………………… 64 Multi Imager Service……………………………………BC TROFF Medical……………………………………………… 30

MEDICAL IMAGING Ampronix……………………………………………………………6

ENDOSCOPY Bulb Direct Holding, LLC……………………………… 29 Endoscopy Specialists………………………………… 72 HMB Endoscopy Products…………………………… 73 Mobile Instrument Service & Repair……………8 S.H. Medical Corporation…………………… 20, 33 GENERAL Bulb Direct Holding, LLC……………………………… 29 Eastern Diagnostic Imaging……………………… 21 Government Liquidation…………………………… 59 MedWrench…………………………………………………… 87 Remarket Medical………………………………………… 81

CABINETS/CARTS Bryton Corporation……………………………………… 19

HOSPITAL VACCUMS Atrix International……………………………………… 42

CARDIOLOGY J & M Trading…………………………………………………… 64 Southeastern Biomedical, Inc.…………………… 43

IMAGING/PARTS A+ Medical Company Inc.…………………………… 20 Ampronix……………………………………………………………6 Diagnostic Solutions…………………………………… 77 Eastern Diagnostic Imaging……………………… 21 InterMed NucMed………………………………………… 42 InterMed Ultrasound…………………………………… 65 J & M Trading…………………………………………………… 64 Technical Prospects…………………………………………3 Tri-Imaging……………………………………………………… 29 TROFF Medical……………………………………………… 30

C-ARMS Eastern Diagnostic Imaging……………………… 21 COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY East Coast Medical Systems……………………… 81 Ed Sloan & Associates………………………………… 68 German Electronics……………………………………… 81 Imaging Affiliates………………………………………… 73 Metropolis International…………………………… 67 MIT/Medical Imaging Technologies…………… 72 Tri-Imaging……………………………………………………… 29 CT PARTS A+ Medical Company Inc.…………………………… 20 Asset Management Associates, LLC………… 69 German Electronics……………………………………… 81 Imaging Affiliates………………………………………… 73 KEI Medical Imaging Services…………………… 25 CT SCANNERS Asset Management Associates, LLC………… 69 East Coast Medical Systems……………………… 81 Ed Sloan & Associates………………………………… 68 84 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

INFUSION AIV, Inc.…………………………………………………………… 43 Medical Specialties Distributors… 19, 25, 33 INFUSION THERAPY Medical Specialties Distributors… 19, 25, 33 INTERNET RESOURCES MedWrench…………………………………………………… 87 LABORATORY MIT/Medical Imaging Technologies…………… 72 LASER IMAGERS Multi Imager Service……………………………………BC

MAMMOGRAPHY Digitec Medical Service Corp.……………………… 69

MOBILE IMAGING BC Technical, Inc.…………………………………………… 10 MODULE/TELEMETRY Bio-Medical Equipment Service Co.…………… 25 MONITORS/CRTs Advanced Ultrasound Elec./AUE……………………4 Ampronix……………………………………………………………6 Technical Prospects…………………………………………3 TROFF Medical……………………………………………… 30 MRI Asset Management Associates, LLC………… 69 Atrix International……………………………………… 42 Cool Pair Plus………………………………………………… 24 East Coast Medical Systems……………………… 81 Ed Sloan & Associates………………………………… 68 KEI Medical Imaging Services…………………… 25 MIT/Medical Imaging Technologies…………… 72 T.H.E. Medical Systems………………………………… 43 NUCLEAR MEDICINE BC Technical, Inc.…………………………………………… 10 E.L. Parts………………………………………………………… 73 InterMed NucMed………………………………………… 42 International X-Ray Brokers……………………… 64 J & M Trading…………………………………………………… 64 T.H.E. Medical Systems………………………………… 43 Universal Medical Resources, Inc.……………… 65 PATIENT MONITORING Bio-Medical Equipment Service Co.…………… 25 Integrity Biomedical…………………………………… 51 MedEquip Biomedical………………………………… 51 Pacific Medical……………………………………… 44, 48 Sage Services Group……………………………………… 58 Southeastern Biomedical, Inc.…………………… 43 USOC Medical……………………………………………… 50 PROBE REPAIR Conquest Imaging………………………………………… 13 Sentinel Imaging Group, Inc.…………………………7 RADIOLOGY A+ Medical Company Inc.…………………………… 20 Asset Management Associates, LLC………… 69 Eastern Diagnostic Imaging……………………… 21 Holden Battery Services……………………………… 68 MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PARTS & SERVICE

Categorical Index

International X-Ray Brokers……………………… 64 InterMed NucMed………………………………………… 42 InterMed Ultrasound…………………………………… 65 J & M Trading…………………………………………………… 64 Maull Biomedical Training, LLC………………… 32 Metropolis International…………………………… 67 Multi Imager Service……………………………………BC Radon Medical……………………………………………… 64 Technical Prospects…………………………………………3 TROFF Medical……………………………………………… 30 Varian Medical Systems…………………………………9 RADIOLOGY PARTS InterMed NucMed………………………………………… 42 InterMed Ultrasound…………………………………… 65 J & M Trading…………………………………………………… 64 TROFF Medical……………………………………………… 30 RECRUITING Adel-Lawrence Associates, Inc.………………… 19 REFURBISH Bryton Corporation……………………………………… 19 Eastern Diagnostic Imaging……………………… 21 Integrity Biomedical…………………………………… 51 Multi Imager Service……………………………………BC REPAIR/SERVICE Advanced Ultrasound Elec./AUE……………………4 AIV, Inc.…………………………………………………………… 43 Ampronix……………………………………………………………6 Bio-Medical Equipment Service Co.…………… 25 Bryton Corporation……………………………………… 19 Conquest Imaging………………………………………… 13 Continental Equipment Company…………… 69 Crothall………………………………………………………60-63 Digitec Medical Service Corp.……………………… 69 Eastern Diagnostic Imaging……………………… 21 Ed Sloan & Associates………………………………… 68 Endoscopy Specialists………………………………… 72 Integrity Biomedical…………………………………… 51 International Medical Equipment & Service………………………………………………………… 41 KEI Medical Imaging Services…………………… 25 MedEquip Biomedical………………………………… 51 MedWrench…………………………………………………… 87 MIT/Medical Imaging Technologies…………… 72 Mobile Instrument Service & Repair……………8 Pacific Medical……………………………………… 44, 48 Radon Medical……………………………………………… 64 Sage Services Group……………………………………… 58 Sentinel Imaging Group, Inc.…………………………7 TROFF Medical……………………………………………… 30 USOC Medical……………………………………………… 50 REPLACEMENT PARTS A+ Medical Company Inc.…………………………… 20 Advanced Ultrasound Elec./AUE……………………4 WWW.MEDICALDEALER.COM

AIV, Inc.…………………………………………………………… 43 ALCO Sales and Service………………………………… 33 AllParts Medical…………………………………………… 30 E.L. Parts………………………………………………………… 73 Classic Diagnostic Imaging………………………… 77 Conquest Imaging………………………………………… 13 Continental Equipment Company…………… 69 Diagnostic Solutions…………………………………… 77 Digitec Medical Service Corp.……………………… 69 Ed Sloan & Associates………………………………… 68 Government Liquidation…………………………… 59 International Medical Equipment & Service………………………………………………………… 41 J & M Trading…………………………………………………… 64 KEI Medical Imaging Services…………………… 25 MedEquip Biomedical………………………………… 51 MTC/Medical Technologies Co.…………………… 81 Multi Imager Service……………………………………BC Radon Medical……………………………………………… 64 T.H.E. Medical Systems………………………………… 43 Technical Prospects…………………………………………3 TROFF Medical……………………………………………… 30 Varian Medical Systems…………………………………9 RESPIRATORY Medical Specialties Distributors… 19, 25, 33 Tenacore Holdings, Inc.……………………………………5 STERILIZERS Continental Equipment Company…………… 69 Government Liquidation…………………………… 59 InterMed Biomed………………………………………… 58 MTC/Medical Technologies Co.…………………… 81 SURGICAL Bryton Corporation……………………………………… 19 Bulb Direct Holding, LLC……………………………… 29 Eastern Diagnostic Imaging……………………… 21 Endoscopy Specialists………………………………… 72 International Medical Equipment & Service………………………………………………………… 41 Mobile Instrument Service & Repair……………8 S.H. Medical Corporation…………………… 20, 33 SURPLUS MEDICAL Government Liquidation…………………………… 59 Hilditch Group Ltd…………………………………… 22-24 TABLES Bryton Corporation……………………………………… 19 TEST EQUIPMENT Greenwich Instrument Co., Inc.………………… 68 TUBES/BULBS AllParts Medical…………………………………………… 30 Imaging Affiliates………………………………………… 73

International Medical Equipment & Service………………………………………………………… 41 J & M Trading…………………………………………………… 64 Technical Prospects…………………………………………3 ULTRASOUND Advanced Ultrasound Elec./AUE……………………4 AIV, Inc.…………………………………………………………… 43 ATS Laboratoreis, Inc.…………………………………… 77 Bayer Healthcare Services………………………………2 Conquest Imaging………………………………………… 13 Diagnostic Solutions…………………………………… 77 Endoscopy Specialists………………………………… 72 InterMed Ultrasound…………………………………… 65 Medcorp, LLC………………………………………………… 15 Mobile Instrument Service & Repair……………8 Sentinel Imaging Group, Inc.……………………………7 ULTRASOUND PARTS Advanced Ultrasound Elec./AUE……………………4 Conquest Imaging………………………………………… 13 InterMed Ultrasound…………………………………… 65 Medcorp, LLC………………………………………………… 15 Mobile Instrument Service & Repair……………8 VCR REPAIR/SERVICES Advanced Ultrasound Elec./AUE……………………4 Conquest Imaging………………………………………… 13 VENTILATORS Government Liquidation…………………………… 59 VIDEO Endoscopy Specialists………………………………… 72 Multi Imager Service……………………………………BC X-RAY A+ Medical Company Inc.…………………………… 20 Brandywine Imaging, Inc.…………………………… 29 Classic Diagnostic Imaging………………………… 77 Diagnostic Solutions…………………………………… 77 Eastern Diagnostic Imaging……………………… 21 German Electronics……………………………………… 81 Government Liquidation…………………………… 59 Greenwich Instrument Co., Inc.………………… 68 Holden Battery Services……………………………… 68 Imaging Affiliates………………………………………… 73 MIT/Medical Imaging Technologies…………… 72 Tri-Imaging……………………………………………………… 29 X-RAY PARTS A+ Medical Company Inc.…………………………… 20 Greenwich Instrument Co., Inc.………………… 68 J & M Trading…………………………………………………… 64 Technical Prospects…………………………………………3 TROFF Medical……………………………………………… 30

MEDICALDEALER 85

ALPHABETICAL INDEX

A+ Medical Company Inc. ………………………… 20

Eastern Diagnostic Imaging …………………… 21

Metropolis International ………………………… 67

Adel-Lawrence Associates, Inc.………………… 19

Ed Sloan & Associates ……………………………… 68

MIT/Medical Imaging Technologies ………… 72

Advanced Ultrasound Elec./AUE …………………4

Endoscopy Specialists ……………………………… 72

Mobile Instrument Service & Repair …………8

AIV, Inc. ………………………………………………………… 43

German Electronics …………………………………… 81

MTC/Medical Technologies Co. ………………… 81

ALCO Sales and Service ……………………………… 33

Government Liquidation ………………………… 59

Multi Imager Service …………………………………BC

AllParts Medical ………………………………………… 30

Greenwich Instrument Co., Inc. ……………… 68

Ozark Biomedical ……………………………………… 32

Ampronix …………………………………………………………6

Hilditch Group Ltd ………………………………… 22-24

Pacific Medical …………………………………… 44, 48

Asset Management Associates, LLC ……… 69

HMB Endoscopy Products ………………………… 73

Paragon Service ………………………………………… 14

Atrix International …………………………………… 42

Holden Battery Services …………………………… 68

Radon Medical …………………………………………… 64

ATS Laboratoreis, Inc. ………………………………… 77

IAMERS ………………………………………………………… 34

Remarket Medical ……………………………………… 81

Bayer Healthcare Services ……………………………2

Imaging Affiliates ……………………………………… 73

S.H. Medical Corporation ………………… 20, 33

BC Technical, Inc. ………………………………………… 10

Integrity Biomedical ………………………………… 51

Sage Services Group…………………………………… 58

Bio-Medical Equipment Service Co.………… 25

InterMed NucMed ……………………………………… 42

Sentinel Imaging Group, Inc. ………………………7

Brandywine Imaging, Inc. ………………………… 29

InterMed Ultrasound ………………………………… 65

Southeastern Biomedical, Inc. ………………… 43

Bryton Corporation …………………………………… 19

InterMed Biomed ……………………………………… 58

T.H.E. Medical Systems ……………………………… 43

Bulb Direct Holding, LLC …………………………… 29

International Medical Equipment

Technical Prospects ………………………………………3

Classic Diagnostic Imaging ……………………… 77

& Service ……………………………………………………… 41

Tenacore Holdings, Inc.…………………………………5

Conquest Imaging ……………………………………… 13

International X-Ray Brokers …………………… 64

Tri-Imaging …………………………………………………… 29

Continental Equipment Company ………… 69

J & M Trading………………………………………………… 64

TROFF Medical …………………………………………… 30

Cool Pair Plus ……………………………………………… 24

KEI Medical Imaging Services ………………… 25

Universal Medical Resources, Inc. …………… 65

Crothall ……………………………………………………60-63

Maull Biomedical Training, LLC ……………… 32

USOC Medical …………………………………………… 50

Diagnostic Solutions ………………………………… 77

Medcorp, LLC ……………………………………………… 15

Varian Medical Systems ………………………………9

Digitec Medical Service Corp.…………………… 69

MedEquip Biomedical ……………………………… 51

E.L. Parts ……………………………………………………… 73

Medical Specialties Distributors 19, 25, 33

East Coast Medical Systems …………………… 81

MedWrench ………………………………………………… 87

86 MEDICALDEALER | JULY 2014

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