"In CT and almost every other modality, [OEMs] have saturated the imaging field with new machines with varied capabilities over the past five to eight years. Now that the economy is really slowing down, hospital managers and finance people are putting a crimp on spending," said Leon Gugel, President, Metropolis International, Long Island City, NY. The company buys and sells used CT scanners. "Because of this saturation there is no real value in upgrading if their CTs are doing what they were meant to do."

Philips reports a convergence in the market. "What we do see is a 'flight to value' with customers thinking about whether they need a 64-slice scanner in every CT location.... We see the market converging on 16-slice as a value segment, 64 as a mid-tier...and the 256 or Brilliance iCT as the new premium segment," Steidley said of the company's brand.


Lower-slice scanners still do yeoman's service in many applications, however, some radiology benefits managers, who call the shots on whether insurers will pay, are requiring newer, multi-slice technology.

"We are noticing that the 16-slice today is becoming like the 4-slice in the past," said Joseph Cooper, Senior Manager of the CT business unit, Toshiba America Medical Systems, Tustin, CA. "We are also noticing many healthcare facilities purchasing 32-slice scanners."




The other big headline in CT lately is a growing concern over radiation exposure for patients. Several OEMs are leading the way to address this issue. For example, Toshiba is maximizing image quality while lowering exposure with its ground-breaking Aquilion ONE, a scanner that uses dynamic volume axial technology, rather than the helical design used in most multi-slice scanners. The speed of the Aquilion ONE and other features effectively lower radiation dose. The system can scan an organ in one rotation using 320 ultra high resolution detector elements. The company also makes a full line of multi-slice scanners from 4- to 64-slices ranging from about $500,000 up to $1.3 million, with the Aquilion ONE priced around $2.25 million.

Smaller OEMs are also carving niches. For instance, Xoran Technologies, Inc., Ann Arbor, MI makes compact, extremely low-radiation CT scanners. Used for scanning the head, they are portable for a doctor's office, bedside, OR or ICU. "The most significant benefit for a hospital is the ability to free up expensive, full-body CT scanners," said Susie Vestevich, Corporate Communications Specialist.

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