High-field MRI equipment loses market dominance - magnetic resonance imaging

Health Industry Today, Sept, 1991 by Greg Borzo

GE Medical Systems, Philips and Siemens Medical Systems have in-house financing, and Hughes expects several other companies to follow suit.

Low field improves image

The low field has shed its image as "something designed for the third world" and now produces images as good as those produced a few years ago on high-field systems, according to Michael Silver, North American director of MRI for Instrumentation Imaging Inc., Milwaukee.

There are 60 low-field systems in the United States today and at least 40 new installations are expected in the next 12 months, he added.

Hitachi Medical Corporation of America, Tarrytown, N.Y., and Toshiba America Medical Systems, Tustin, Calif., dominate the low field, which is growing rapidly. Although this article and most studies define the low field at .2 tesla and below, Hitachi defines and markets its .2 tesla MRP 5000 as a midfield system.

"We typically sell against midfield systems especially Philips' T5 (.5 tesla), rather than the Toshiba Access (.064 tesla)," said Greg Janicik, technical marketing specialist for MRI at Hitachi.

Hitachi sells through a direct sales force of 30, which is growing fast, he said. Only in the U.S. market for 1 1/2 years, Hitachi has already installed 48 of its MRP 5000s here. It also sells a MRP 7000 (.3 tesla), of which two have been installed and 20 have been ordered, Janicik said.

Although some competitors and consultants dismiss Hitachi as a niche player with an insignificant market share, Hitachi claims to have 8% to 10% of the total MRI market (on a unit sales basis) and 25% to 30% of the midfield market segment. These figures would be lower on a dollar basis since the MRP 5000 ($1.2 million) and the MRP 7000 ($1.4 million) are less expensive than many midfield systems.

Hitachi sells a .5 tesla system in Japan, but has no plans to introduce it in the United States, according to Janicik.

Most of Hitachi's early sales were to alternate sites, but the company plans to increase its marketing to hospitals. It will focus on 150-to 400-bed hospitals.

"When talking to community hospitals, we highlight our low siting (installation) costs, space requirements, electricity consumption and maintenance needs," Janicik said. "Our permanent magnet requires no cooling material. That can save $35,000 to $60,000 annually for a system using a superconducting magnet, (which is common with high-field systems)."

Hitachi and Toshiba will face more competition in the low-field market. Siemens recently introduced a low-field machine, and Instrumentarian may soon establish a presence with its Mega 4 (.1 tesla). Although Instrumentarian only has one of the $1.1 million systems installed in the United States, Silver says the company is on target with its marketing plan.

"We only intended to install one system in our first year," he said. "Now we are starting to market ourselves through ads and direct mail. We will have an important impact on the low field in 1992."

Competitors chip away at GE

GE, Milwaukee, dominates the high field with its Signa line (1.5 tesla) and the mid-field with its "bread and butter" Max line (.5 tesla). More than 850 Signa systems have been sold in the United States and some 400 Max systems have been sold worldwide, according to GE.