United Imaging Healthcare made its official debut this week in the U.S. market at the 2018 Radiological Society of North America conference in Chicago.

The Shanghai-based imaging equipment and software manufacturer has set up new headquarters in Houston and has begun selling FDA-cleared products for MR, CT, PET/CT and X-ray, while pursuing clearance for a variety of others.

"We're now at about 5000 units worldwide and at a phase where we're ready to bring that equipment to the U.S.," Jeffrey Bundy, chief executive officer for UIH North America, told HCB News. "We have been waiting for the right time to do that and with the amount of equipment and technology we have, we probably could have come to the U.S. earlier, but wanted to make sure we got to the point where we really had a complete and highly innovative portfolio for addressing the needs of the U.S. market."

The company started in 2011 and currently has 16 FDA-cleared products across MR, CT, PET/CT and X-ray.

"From an end-user perspective, we have a strategy to have a common workflow interface across all of our systems," said Bundy. "We're also very committed to efficient workflow and very proud of the state-of-the-art design of our user interface."

United Imaging also produces standalone workstations that are separate but integrated with their modalities, providing workflow and post-processing software support.

Having set up an R&D team in Texas in 2013 as part of its strategy for entering the U.S. market, UIH has expanded its presence to 20 states and set up additional sites in Cleveland, Ohio and Concord, California. It is currently in the midst of outfitting 100,000 square feet for local manufacturing in Houston, as well as a training space there, offering an "opportunity for job creation in the Texas market," according to Bundy.

United Imaging plans to form its own complex composed of R&D, education, training, service and manufacturing. In addition, it is currently pursuing opportunities to establish partnerships with different providers.

"We are a company that has a passion for change. We want to bring change to our industry, and we also have a mission to bring access to high-end technology to more patients worldwide," said Bundy. "We have the portfolio and strategy to bring advanced technologies across the globe."

The company expects production of U.S.-based systems to take place at its new facility in Houston by the end of 2019.

Source: DOTmed