From the December 2015 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


Advanced Mobility by Kentucky Trailer has just acquired an additional 75,000 square feet of manufacturing space, which is as clear an indication as any that they forecast a changing of the tide. “When OEMs receive orders from hospitals, we work behind the scenes to make sure we’re designing and building a product that supports their product most efficiently and works the way it’s supposed to,” he says.

Vartanian points out that their sales are based on volume, as evidence that the OEMs are unlikely to get back into mobilizing in earnest. “The old model of three hospitals buying in 100 percent for a five-year route — that business model is dying because the manufacturer still has to sell to an operator.”


A new era for mobile CT?
Geoff Smith contrasts the current regulatory atmosphere with that of years gone by. “The Odelca 70mm X-ray for chest imaging was around for probably 15-20 years because nobody was developing anything better,” he says.

While few hospitals can make the case for having the most advanced technology available, new dose monitoring legislation like XR-29 is raising the bar on minimum requirements. For facilities that don’t step up to the new standards, reimbursement gets cut. Rocha calls XR-29 a “driving force” in the mobile imaging field. He anticipates some hospitals will take this opportunity to re-evaluate the distribution of their assets and perhaps continue long term with shared or trailer-based systems originally intended as interim.

For Advanced Mobility, getting the mobile CT market rolling again has been a topic of serious consideration. “Right now most of the CT is going in refurb trailers and we’re trying to figure out how to bring a lower priced new CT trailer to market within the next several months,” says Bachman. The challenge is in making a mobile CT economically viable. “We can’t put a $400,000 CT scanner in a $400,000 trailer, so we’re working on a lower price new-build CT trailer,” he says. As hospitals look for ways to mitigate the cost impact of adhering to standards like XR-29, an affordable mobile solution could be a welcome alternative.

“It’s a factor you cannot ignore,” says Hockel. Ensuring that a facility is updated and compliant with dose standardization will increasingly impact not only the quality of equipment being utilized by providers, but the quality of the CTs being offered in the mobile market. “With health systems, the industry is continuing to create partners and solutions to provide the most patient-focused and economical model possible,” says Hockel. “There is an opportunity and a window that mobile solutions provide within that context, and it’s crucial to bring technological advancements into the mobile environment.”

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December 2015 Magazine

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