What are the current trends in healthcare clinical products, both in India and global market?
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| Dr Norbert Gaus |
Our Clinical Products Division comprises X-ray and ultrasound systems, which account for a majority of medical examinations all over the world. Among others, we’ve identified two aspects that are vital in this field: quality and accessibility. Talking about quality, just look at our recently introduced ultrasound system Acuson S3000: It allows for the automated fusion of ultrasound and 3D computed tomography images. A few years ago, this was simply unthinkable. Our customers even had to struggle with reading clinical images, which then were of shady grey. The second aspect, accessibility, is a topic that has significantly improved. I’m quite proud of the fact that today, millions of people, for instance in emerging markets like India, have access to our X-ray and ultrasound machines, which is also a result of our strategy to broaden our portfolio of affordable products. However, there is still a very significant proportion of the population that still has no access to clinical imaging as a means of diagnosis.
On a global level, we see that the debt crisis in Europe and the US is asserting additional cost pressure in the healthcare systems, calling for more efficient clinical work-flows, thus more productive products and solutions. To cater for this trend we introduced our initiative ‘Agenda 2013’ in November 2011 to further strengthen healthcare sector’s innovation power and competitiveness. As a result, in the past 12 months alone, we introduced an X-ray and an ultrasound system as well as a CT and MR scanner that offer a very compelling balance between image quality, investment budget and productivity targets.
How has technology in healthcare clinical products evolved to assist effective healthcare delivery, especially in India?
Talking about effective delivery, due to its sheer size, the Indian market is a challenge in itself. Moreover, the Indian market is highly diversified. On the one hand, we’re talking about high-class hospitals with the same requirements as any teaching hospital in Europe or the US. On the other hand, we see a vast and fast-growing market for entry- and mid-level products. We serve both markets with innovations that equally cater for quality, effectiveness and price-efficiency. And our manufacturing site in Goa, which has been up and running since 1996, serves the local market needs with systems such as the Multimobil family for X-ray.
How has Siemens’ Healthcare Clinical Products Division played a role in enhancing healthcare delivery?
In India, Siemens has started the initiative Sanjeevan mobile clinic to bring healthcare to the people. These so-called buses of hope bring basic medical care to people who otherwise would have to walk many miles to receive any kind of medical care. They feature X-ray, ultrasound, mammography and electrocardiogram equipment and there’s even a darkroom for developing X-ray images! Just one year ago, Siemens’ President and CEO Peter Loescher proudly donated another Sanjeevan mobile clinic to Medanta, one of India’s largest speciality institutes located in Gurgaon. The previous one was donated to Smile Foundation in Madhepura, Bihar and more than a dozen of these buses are already on their way through rural India. Apart from our corporate citizenship programme, we are fostering our R&D efforts to come up with highly innovative and at the same time more cost-efficient medical equipment.
How receptive is the Indian market to new technologies and innovations?
India is very receptive to new technologies. From what I observe, high-tech has a very positive connotation in India. Which I – being an engineer myself – fully understand. What we see in India maybe more than anywhere else on the planet is that our customers are very demanding in terms of what innovation is able to contribute to the solution of a problem. In this sense the Indian market is very challenging. However one can say: If you make it there, you make it everywhere.
Which technologies have gained popularity and acceptance in the past few years?
From a high-end perspective, I want to mention Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) imaging or automated quantification of heart volumes and in the area of mammography, our Mammomat Inspiration. Siemens is the only company in India to provide the solution of ARFI, which comes with our ACUSON S2000 ultrasound system. The technology has remarkably helped in accurate and early diagnosis of liver-related disorders – where the number of victims is increasing in India. Furthermore, automated ultrasound technologies are poular, for instance the Syngo Auto Left Heart (Auto LH) technology. This feature automatically generates left heart volumes and ejection fractions. It works with pattern recognition technology that is based on learning from a database of expert contours on thousands of cases, so the quantification is very accurate and consistent. Finally, our high-end digital mammography platform for screening, diagnostics, stereotactic biopsy, and 3D tomosynthesis has also gained acceptance in India.
What are the most notable innovations in the past decade as far as healthcare clinical products are concerned?
I just touched on the high-end innovations. At Siemens however, we expand the definition of innovation to mid-range products also. And here I’d also like to mention two great successes of the recent years: One is our new digital X-ray system that fits the needs of the entry-level segment perfectly and that is the Multix Select DR. It can be used for virtually all clinical radiography applications, is easy to use and comes with an outstanding price-performance ratio.
A second innovation benefiting the Indian population was the development of a smart camera for the C-arm system MM5E that is manufactured in Goa. This camera was designed with the Indian customers in mind. And at the same time, we did not compromise on the overall output and that is high-quality images. By developing this special camera, we were also able to reduce the total cost of the C-arm system considerably.
Tell us about the new technologies and innovations that Siemens’ Healthcare Clinical Products Division has introduced in the past few years? How well have they been received?
Just last year, we launched the ultrasound system Acuson S3000, I’ve mentioned earlier. I think this system is definitely the best money can buy as for instance it is the only system that offers fusion imaging for routine clinical use. Just imagine that, with a single click, you can fuse 3D CT volumes with real-time ultrasound! Customers have been very pleased so far, praising the faster work-flow they’ve achieved and the 25 percent bigger field of view. In the field of X-ray, as I’ve just mentioned, we introduced the new digital Multix Select DR. So far, a fully digital X-ray system was only available in the higher-level price segment. With the Multix Select DR we are now able to offer this fast, more precise and environmentally-friendly technology for a price, which is about one-third below than that of comparable predecessor products of Siemens. As such the Multix Select DR becomes attractive for customers who could so far only afford analogue radiography systems. Other innovations in the high-end and mid-range, I have just touched on.
Siemens fine-tuned its ultrasound segment, last year. What has been the result of that step? Has it given the boost needed for Siemens’ ultrasound products?
Our ultrasound business unit is growing nicely due to the many exciting developments in the past quarters! The products we introduced will further enhance Siemens’ participation in the rapidly growing compact ultrasound segment worldwide. We have also successfully expanded our portfolio of products in the middle price segment, for instance, with the Acuson S1000 ultrasound device. The system enables access to premium imaging performance at an exceptional cost of ownership. With this system we now have a scaleable portfolio where the customer can upgrade his system from an S1000 to the S2000 and even the S3000. In other words,the capabilities of the system grow with the challenges of the customers. This is investment protection at its best!
What are the future plans of the Healthcare Clinical Products division for India?
We want to grow in India. And we want to grow for India! We will achieve this also through healthcare sector’s initiative Agenda 2013, which entails objectives like expanding our regional presence in the fast-growing emerging markets and further extending our portfolio of systems in the middle price segment. That is, our site in Goa will play a very important role for our product development and manufacturing – we will surely see some interesting systems coming out of Goa in the next few years. I believe it is vital for our strategy to involve local engineers and incorporate their know-how about the market. Only then can we be sure that our products for India do really meet the local requirements and can support good healthcare delivery.
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