On the face of it, AAN looks like a fairly new company, founded in 2009 by industry veteran Lee Kelly. But the heritage of biomedical engineering behind his firm stretches back decades; Kelly worked for several OEMs including Toshiba and GE before he opened his own business.

The company is enjoying an unusual trend right now because CMS has actually increased its reimbursement for PET myocardial perfusion imaging, playing into a specialty for AAN.

Their inventory is made up of newer equipment from about two to five years old giving customers the best of both worlds--highly functional technology at about 20 to 25 percent savings. Clients include clinics, hospitals and imaging centers.

"We started off as American Allied Nuclear [in 1998].... "We have folded the old company into the new and expanded services from providing just nuclear and PET to doing everything from MR to CT and PET," said Kelly. "You can't do it all but we can do the sales and moves. We can get parts from the OEMs and have agreements with them all. We try to accommodate OEMs without stepping on their toes because we need a good working relationship," he said.

PET and PET/CT are such healthy markets that AAN is going strong into their second year.

"We are in the expansion mode. We are selling equipment. Some of our competitors are coming to us," Kelly said.

AAN has a 4,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center in Canyon Lake, Texas and headquarters in Las Vegas.

In addition to a portfolio of modalities, because they know the markets so well, AAN also consults for group purchasing organizations.

"You have to know where everyone is who can support the technology. If there are third party vendors to support them and they don't want to stick with the OEM, they can make the best choice when they purchase the equipment."

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