"A challenge we face in the technology age is how quickly expertise can become obsolete and how this can affect our customer," says Nasiff. "Replacements and/or upgrades can become very costly; with a PC-based CardioStressTM System upgrading is affordable and easy, allowing our customers to be up-to-date with the latest technology," says Nasiff.

Since the company was established in 1989, Nasiff was the first to produce a clinically useful PC-based PC ECG/EKG, build a PC-based Stress ECG System, develop a notebook (PCMCIA or USB) based ECG System and integrate stress and holter into one system. The company's flagship products are the Cardio-Suite and the Cardio Vitals, which consists of ECG, NIBP (noninvasive blood pressure monitor) SpO2 (measuring the amount of oxygen being carried by the red blood cells in the blood) and temperature.


Despite a sluggish economy, Nasiff has seen sales for its systems improve by as much as 30% in the past year.

"We have found that this economy has driven customers to look for the best technology at competitive pricing. This plugs well into what Nasiff Associates has to offer," he says. "Nasiff CardioStressTM ECG is feature rich and affordable. In this economy our customers are looking for pricing alternatives while maintaining top quality and the best customer care."

Today, medical facilities want an enterprise-wide solution, a system that allows large volumes of clinical and administrative data to be quickly and easily exchanged. They are also looking for a system that does not lock them into buying one manufacturer's proprietary hardware or software, and can adapt to future changes in technology.

Refurbishers play a role

A quick perusal of the listings on DOTmed.com will result in hundreds of hits for refurbished stress test equipment and most will save you more than 50% compared to the price of newer models.

"The economy is keeping people from buying new and so by offering quality products blended with excellent customer service, the refurbished market is the way to go for this," says Bob Gaw, owner of PRN, which sells, refurbishes and services stress test equipment. "Stress test equipment hasn't changed in 25 years so there's not a big demand for newer equipment."

Gaw says that the stress test market is mostly in America as the shipping costs are too much for it to be viable outside the U.S.

When it's time to refurbish the equipment, there are numerous steps that must be done.

"We go completely through it. We do a lot of electrical checks, often change the tread board, change the belts, service the moving parts, lubricate where needed and fix printer rollers," Gaw says. "You have to check that the printer drives, power supplies and treadmill are all working."

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