Imaging industry names in the news: Koning, Medality, QT Imaging, Rezolut, Scanslated, more
Noteworthy market developments listed in the order announcements were posted.
Atlanta-based Rezolut has expanded its imaging-center footprint to 40 facilities nationally and 16 in the Northeast by bringing into its fold three-site CNY Diagnostic Imaging Associates of Syracuse, New York (Dec. 12). CNY opened in 1979, and its modality lines include mammography, MRI, CT and ultrasound. Rezolut CEO Jin Kim, MD: “[T]he partnership with CNY’s radiologists will provide additional support, quality assurance and allows us to continue building a powerful Rezolut footprint in the Northeast.”
Blank check company GigCapital5 of Palo Alto, California, has agreed to combine business plans with breast ultrasound OEM QT Imaging of Novato, California (Dec. 12). Upon closing the agreement in 2023, QT will become a publicly listed company named QT Imaging Holdings and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “QTI.” Avi Katz, PhD, founding managing partner of GigCapital Global and chairman of the board of directors of GigCapital5: “It is a moral mission for the GigCapital5 team to partner with QT Imaging’s team to bring to the public markets their first breakthrough, FDA-cleared for breast imaging scanner, QTscan, as well as to support development and FDA clearances for imaging applications beyond the breast.”
Breast CT manufacturer Koning (Norcross, Ga.) has assembled a scientific advisory board with several radiologists of note, including Richard Ha, MD, of Columbia University; Richard Reaven, MD, of the University of Maryland; Kristina Siddall, MD, of Bayview Imaging in Miami; and John Cutrone, MD, of St. Francis-Emory Healthcare in Georgia (Dec. 12). Koning president David Georges: “Being able to connect regularly with top doctors in the breast imaging industry will push the company forward and help achieve its aim to provide breast CT as a breast imaging option to women around the world.”
The Province of Ontario is boosting existing investments by more than $20 million to add 27 new MRI scanners across the Canadian province. The new funding brings total operational funding for current MRI support to $40 million, with 49 machines installed in or targeted for 42 hospitals (Dec. 12). Deputy premier of Ontario and Ontario minister of health Sylvia Jones: “For some communities, this funding means they will have their first-ever MRI machine and residents will have more convenient access to care closer to home.”
Radiology education outfit MRI Online (Cincinnati) has changed its name to Medality (Dec. 13). “What started out [in 2020] as a single MRI course has grown to more than 100 case-based video courses from leading radiology educators and one of the largest volumes of high-quality, peer-reviewed DICOM cases across all key imaging modalities and subspecialties,” the company explains. CEO and co-founder Daniel Arnold: “We’ve changed our name to Medality, a combination of medicine and modality, to reflect that expanded scope and our goals for achieving a broader impact for radiologists, referrers and ultimately patients.”
US Radiology Specialists (Raleigh, N.C.) is partnering with Scanslated (Tampa, Fla.) to bring patient-centered radiology reporting to outpatient imaging centers across the U.S. (Dec. 14). The move builds on a successful pilot project, expanding consumer-friendly reporting capabilities in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Texas and Oklahoma. US Radiology CIO Gerry Lewis: “Feedback from our initial deployment of Scanslated’s solution at our locations in Colorado was overwhelmingly positive, with 95% of patients who received their reports in the new format reporting that they could more easily understand their imaging procedures and have more informed conversations with their providers.”