otherwise would not be possible.

What do the top ISOs do when refurbishing a system?
Jim Kollai is General Manager at Ambassador Medical out of Carmel, IN. Ambassador is owned by GE Healthcare, and Kollai noted his company specializes in refurbishing and reselling ultrasounds taken in trade by GE when they sell a new system. Many of these used systems are GE models, but they can also be from almost any manufacturer, including Philips, Siemens, Aloka, or Acuson. Ambassador also provides probes, part sales & repair services to other ISOs, and directly to hospital BioMed technicians. Ambassador has a rigorous refurbishment program, and they also repair system boards and parts in-house. They go over a machine from top-to-bottom to check for problems, and repair and replace any parts as needed. They then give the system a final test with the actual probes the customer is buying - not bench probes. The customer gets a certificate of functionality that states everything is "A-OK." Ambassador is in the process of obtaining ISO 13485 Certification which is specifically for medical devices. To be awarded this designation, a company has to prove it has established and maintains a high level of quality in their operational procedures. Kollai expects certification to be achieved some time in June of this year.


Sonora Medical Systems of Longmont, CO, is another key independent ultrasound company which is unique in many ways - not just because of its size, but for its capabilities and services, and patented ultrasound test equipment. Sonora makes what they claim is the industry's standard diagnostic tool for running quality assurance test on new and used transducers, the FirstCall. Wayne Moore, President of Sonora, says virtually every OEM owns one FirstCall, and some have several. In addition, dozens of ISOs use the FirstCall. Sonora also has a second diagnostic tool, the Nickle, which is less expensive but provide important information on system performance.

Sonora also helps hospitals that are looking to for an alternative to relatively
high-priced OEM service contracts. "We train BioMed Technicians so they can test and diagnose their facility's ultrasound equipment themselves,"Moore explained. "This way they can call us and tell us what is wrong. If it's simply swapping out a part, we can send the part. Or if needed, and we can send a Service Engineer out there with the right parts and fix the problem in one visit, still saving everybody time and money."

Bill Ipsen, an Owner/Partner in KPI out of Riverside, CA, feels his company is one of the largest, truly independent third-party companies. "Our reputation for quality refurbished systems and superior service is not just known nationwide, but worldwide," he asserted. The company has 7 experienced engineers. Ispen said about 20-25% of KPI's business cones from South America and Europe.

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