Quality Costs

"Quality costs money," says Roger Nasiff, president, Nasiff Associates. His Brewerton, NY company, although small, is credited with having created the first PC-based CardioCard monitoring ECG's, Stress and Holter machines. In 1996, Nasiff Associates built the first PC-based CardioSuite, a PC-based system that monitors all three. Separately, Nasiff sells its ECG's for $2195, its Stress Monitors for $3395 and its Holter Monitors for $3195, with the Suites going for $6295. These prices are very competitive when put up against GE, Phillips, and other big companies.


Low cost doesn't have to mean low quality, however, as Nasiff pointedly explains.

"I would say GE and Phillips are tops in EKGs, GE and Quinton are tops in Stress Monitors, and Phillips still leads in Holters," Nasiff explains, " but these guys are huge and will make and create 1000 of them a month. My company will make 50 to 70 Holters a month, but many people who bought them in the early 1990's are still using them. Our quality is very high. I definitely think we offer the best value for the price."

Nasiff, with two degrees in biomedical engineering and a PhD in electronic engineering, began in the basement of his house, but, today, he says his craftsmanship creates a level of accuracy that trumps cost.

"Schiller or Welch Allyn has a nice breadth of products, but what they sell isn't quite as accurate yet. To Nasiff, better diagnosis is the only "blue sky" parameter worth pursuing, now or in the future.

"To me, to increase our depth and accuracy in any monitoring system is, in itself, major blue sky advancement. We all need to work to make the systems better, more accurate, and to avoid settings that lead to wrong diagnoses," Nasiff says, adding, "While everyone's all excited about wireless, Nasiff hasn't pursued it yet, outside of our own research, because we feel it's still not as accurate as what we have out there. You can still lose data."

Refurbishing/Repairing Monitors

Companies offering used and refurbished monitors suggest a mixed bag in terms of market strength. Owners are split in terms of whether sales are weak or strong.

John Newbury, sales and service manager for Medelco, describes a variety of monitor repairs and refurbishing used on previously owned monitors.

"We clean the entire inside with a blow out from an air gun," he says. "We then have qualified engineers inspect all the interior electronics. Sometimes we need to replace external cables, and, if the unit needs it, we'll professionally repaint the outside."

"I think the market is still strong," reports Ronald Tarr, president of Medelco Co. in Boynton Beach, Fl. "Smart hospitals and clinics are buying the pre-owned equipment for 25 or 35 cents on the dollar, and, as I mentioned, technology has not really changed in the last 10 years."

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