by
Lauren Dubinsky, Senior Reporter | September 05, 2017
From the September 2017 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
“This new technology has liquid instead of metal bearing,” says Goryl. “That allows for fast rotational speeds and reduces that metal-on-metal contact point, so it helps us to get longer life out of the tube.”
GE introduced the first liquid bearing tube in 2013 called the Performix Plus and introduced the new Performix 40 Plus in 2015 for its Revolution EVO CT.
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The liquid bearing tubes improve image quality because the tube is being spun much faster. They are also quieter because there is no spinning noise from ball bearing metal-on-metal contact.
Varex Imaging Corporation
Varian Medical Systems announced in May 2016 that it planned to spin off its imaging components business, citing different trajectories for the imaging business and the oncology business.
The separation was completed in January and Varex Imaging Corporation was born. Varex is now a high-volume manufacturer of imaging components such as X-ray tubes, flat-panel detectors and high-voltage connectors, as well as imaging software and specialized accelerators.
In May, Varex announced its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2017, which are the first since it became its own company. Revenue rose 3 percent to $155 million from $150 million in the prior year.
During the quarter, the company accepted and shipped an order for a package of components for several hundred general radiographic systems, including X-ray tubes, digital detectors and high-voltage connectors.
Varex also extended its multi-decade relationship with Toshiba Medical Systems, with a renewed three-year pricing agreement for CT tubes. The value of the CT tube sales is expected to be in the range of $345 million to $385 million.
“This is a vote of confidence in our ongoing ability to develop new X-ray imaging component technologies that improve performance and reduce time to market as Toshiba Medical introduces several of their next-generation imaging systems over the coming years,” Sunny Sanyal, CEO of Varex, said in a statement.
New player in the market
Richardson Healthcare announced plans to enter the X-ray tube manufacturing space in August 2014. At the same time, the company also appointed the former president of Dunlee, Pat Fitzgerald, as executive vice president and general manager of Richardson Healthcare.
“Our mission in health care is to enable hospitals and independent service organizations who want to service high-end medical imaging equipment,” says Fitzgerald. “The barrier to providing an alternative to OEM service in CT is typically the availability of a high-quality, affordable replacement X-ray tube for the CT system.”
