From the August 2012 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


“Any parts associated with endof- life statements from OEMs tend to be in low supply,” says Milind Gupte, vice president of Better Imaging Solutions, founded in 2007 as an OEM transducer wholesaler.

In 2009, the business adapted to incorporate service for diagnostic imaging solutions.


Typically, when the OEM announces something is at the end-of- life, they do a one-time order of enough parts to support it for a predetermined period of time. After that supply sells out, the inventory is no longer replenished.

“In the nuclear medicine world, people are keeping our cameras for 10 to 15 years or more,” says Smith. “They don’t have the budgets to replace the systems like you get for CT or MR upgrades, so they need to find the source to keep those systems running. So you see that end-of-life products are in higher demand.”

There is really no sure-fire way to predict what medical equipment part will suddenly be touted as the “it” component. But LoRusso advises looking out for trends.

“Any parts vendor will tell you the same thing; our equipment seems to be sold in cycles, we will go one quarter selling primarily MRI, and the next quarter CT,” LoRusso says. “It’s strange how it works out this way.”

Currently, Better Imaging Solutions is receiving more requests for back end processors for ultrasound products than any other part. According to Gupte, these components have a measurable failure rate after extended shelf life. Likewise, as full digital is becoming more of the norm, Adam Imaging Parts is seeing an uptick in requests for flat-panel digital detectors.

Some parts, however, are always in-demand, such as glassware. This is predominantly because it is a consumable. After some time has passed, tubes and other equipment accessories do fail.

“I understand the end users are regularly looking for quality alternatives to purchasing new as the cost on replacement glassware tends to be very high,” says Glas. “It’s important to be able to offer a good, tested alternative to the end users at a cost point that is extremely competitive to what the OEMs are offering.”


The impact of CMS’ preventive maintenance guidelines
Regardless of what’s hot and what’s not, medical equipment parts providers may be in for a sales boost. Last December, a directive clarified the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) preventive maintenance (PM) guidelines, requiring hospitals to strictly adhere to manufacturers’ recommendations.

August 2012 Magazine

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