Medical Imaging Holdings, Inc., a holding company formed by Galen Partners, has acquired the businesses of Barrington Medical Imaging, LLC and Echoserve, Inc., DOTmed News has reported. The acquisition date was September 18, 2009. The deal structure and financial terms have not been disclosed.

The new, combined company creates a nationwide, independent service provider for medical imaging equipment across multiple modalities and vendor platforms. The integrated company will provide comprehensive imaging solutions to the medical imaging market, including field service, depot repair, parts and proprietary equipment sales, and the sales and installation of refurbished capital equipment. With ISO-accredited, in-house depot repair capabilities in each modality and experienced field engineers in major metropolitan areas with superior service response terms compared to the OEMs, MIH will have a strong customer value proposition with clear differentiation from the competition.

"The cost-savings value proposition to health care providers from third party service of imaging equipment is compelling given the foreseeable reimbursement outlook. In the post-Deficit Reduction Act era and in the face of continued pressure on reimbursement rates, controlling costs is critical for hospitals and diagnostic imaging centers," said David Jahns, Managing Director, Galen Partners, Stamford CT. "By combining the technical capabilities, significant assets and, most important, the talented people of Echoserve and Barrington, Medical Imaging Holdings is well positioned to provide high quality, cost-efficient solutions to the medical imaging market."

"It's exciting that Echoserve, with our focus on ultrasound and mammography has joined forces with Barrington and their nationwide CT and MR imaging services," said Christopher Cone, Echoserve CEO, and COO of the new company.

For now, the two firms will continue to operate under their distinctive names, although the companies will become unified and rebranded together--probably by year's end, according to Jahns.

Senior management of Barrington Medical Imaging and Echoserve will remain an integral part of the combined company's leadership team. "Barrington and Echoserve have highly complementary workforces with little redundancies. As such, MIH plans to retain the majority of the employees in the integration process," Jahns noted.

Synergies for the new dual organization include use of proprietary technologies, including a vendor-neutral remote monitoring capability, unique repair capabilities, and the deployment of a national network of highly experienced field service engineers.

"Medical Imaging Holdings will help customers reduce their service costs and enhance service quality levels. By providing an enhanced service offering across multiple modalities, including ultrasound, mammography, CT, MRI and patient physiological monitoring, MIH's customers can consolidate their service needs to one best-in-class imaging solutions provider," Jahns told DOTmed News in an e-mail interview.

Additional acquisitions may occur as MIH seeks to "build the pre-eminent third party service provider for medical imaging equipment across multiple modalities and vendor platforms. MIH will pursue opportunities that further differentiate the combined company's service offerings and technical capabilities," Jahns indicated.

The infusion of investor capital and the resulting integrated delivery organization could be a model for the U.S. health care technology sector.

"There seems to be a trend toward consolidation in health care," Cone observed, "Private equity is being invested in the medical industry, in quality companies at good prices," he said.

Galen Partners, a leading health care private equity firm, formed Medical Imaging Holdings, Inc., led the transactions and made a significant investment of growth capital.

Galen is no stranger to these deals. MedAssets, Pyxis, and Chamberlin Edmonds are examples of past investments in technology-enabled service platforms. Specifically, MedAssets (NASDAQ: MDAS) is the largest for-profit group purchasing organization providing a full-service procurement and revenue cycle management service to hospitals, integrated networks and the alternative sites of healthcare delivery. Chamberlin Edmonds provides revenue recovery services to hospitals, managed care plans and state governments. Pyxis manufactures automated medication, and supply and information management systems for hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care facilities.