by
Robert Garment, Executive Editor | August 30, 2007
DRA cuts cut into the
OEMs' MR business
The OEMs, across the board, were quite frank and candid when talking about the
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impact of the DRA imaging reimbursement cuts. The word was "ouch."
Philips's Achieva X series
features the Achieva 3T
and the Achieva XR,
which both look identical;
the XR, however, is a
convertible 1.5T-to-3T system.
Philips is also leading
the open MR market.
"I think in the first half of 2007, we will find that, as a general market trend
in the United States, the order volume of new MR equipment is down," said
Michael Brandt, V.P. of MRI Marketing for Philips.
"I would guess that the DRA cuts will result in a market decline in the U.S.
this year of 10% to 15%," said Davis of GE. Bob Giegerich, Director of MR
Business for Toshiba said flatly, "the industry's down about 20% this year."
All the OEMs, however, were equally optimistic that better days lie ahead for the U.S. market in 2008. Once the process of 'the survival of the fittest' has culled the field, the remaining free standing imaging centers will return to the normal 'purchase, trade-in, upgrade' cycle.
Michael Brandt of Philips noted that the DRA has many people in a waitand-
see mode, particularly about purchasing a 3T system. He says Philips has the answer in the Achieva XR, "which is essentially a DRA defender for our customers." That's because it's a 1.5T system that can be ramped-up to 3T at any time in the future.
"The initial investment is essentially the same as for a 1.5 Tesla system, with a small premium. The upgrade to 3T, which can be done in a year, or two,
or three, requires some incremental overcosts, but the cost is spread out over
time, which many people prefer. I believe Frost and Sullivan did a survey that said about 45% of customers looking to buy a 1.5 Tesla have in their mind that the market will move to 3T, so almost half the 1.5T buyers today feel that the future is going to 3T. We offer them a path to that marketplace that is a very
attractive, because it happens in stages, not all at once," Brandt observed.
Toshiba's 1.5T Vantage
Powered by Atlas --
the company says it
features unique, contrast-agent
free imaging technology.
Bob Giegerich of Toshiba asserts that, "78% of the market today is 1.5T, so I would consider it the standard." Giegerich is not as convinced as the others that 3T will be a solid sales success. "We have a product in the works that will be coming out that we call the Vantage 3T, but we're not pushing it because
