by Meg Hartmann , Reporter, Meg Hartmann

DOTmed 100 Spotlight
Image Technology Consulting – DeSoto, TX

Specialty: Imaging Equipment Sales & Service

“What goes around, comes around,” says Marshall Shannon, Director of Image Technology Consulting. Keeping this maxim in mind has been the key to his success in the imaging equipment industry. For twelve years, Image Technology and its related entities have offered full service on imaging equipment (primarily MRIs and CTs), sold equipment and parts, run imaging centers, refurbished mobile units, and provided advice on the equipment-purchasing process.

For organizations making a large medical equipment purchase, an accurate budget is vital. However, when sellers aren’t up-front with buyers about the hidden costs of purchasing imaging equipment (such as insurance and transportation), or don’t prepare customers for avoiding pricey surprises, like set-up charges, the project can suddenly cost much more than expected. With such a large amount of money at stake, this can have disastrous effects.

According to Shannon, the lack of honesty on the part of some sellers comes sometimes from a lack of education about the market, and sometimes from the high mark-up profit model sellers subscribe to. “Nobody wants to give up any profit to satisfy anybody’s concerns,” he says.

Image Technology is mindful of the cost pressures their customers face, and makes a point of being as straightforward with them as possible. Image Technology’s first-hand experience with all aspects of the imaging business enables them to guide the customer through the entire process. Not only can they help with the compromise of finding the best equipment for the best price, but also with marketing, insurance billing, and technical concerns.

The standards Image Technology has set and maintains has earned them an almost perfect 5 star rating on DOTmed and the DOTmed 100 “seal of approval.” Twenty-six different DOTmed users have rated Image Technology, a number that’s above average.

According to Shannon, Image Technology Consulting’s quotes are up to 20%-25% higher than the competition. But in the end, customers actually save 8-15% by going with him, due to his company’s policy of handling all aspects of the purchasing process from start to finish and making sure the project gets done with no surprises.

“It’s been proven true over and over again,” Shannon says. It’s not uncommon that lost customers will return after trying a competitor and seeing the value to Shannon’s approach.

His determination to see the project through successfully, even if it means eating the cost if something goes wrong, has indeed come back around for Shannon: “The customers are our biggest advertisers.” He knows that when potential customers ask others on DOTmed for information about Image Technology Consulting, his current customers are eager to give rave reviews. And according to Shannon, such word-of-mouth advertising can’t be beat.

“Eventually your good deeds pay off, and it may be later than you hope, but the hope is it will eventually pay off, that the people you do good by will remember that down the road.”

by Brendon Nafziger, DOTmed News Associate Editor

Image Technology Consulting, LLC is bringing its MRI magnet storage indoors. The parts and service company is moving into a 80,000-square-foot facility next month where they can provide indoor cold storage for over a dozen magnets while offering vendor service-neutral storage plans, DOTmed News has learned.

The new warehouse, in Lancaster, Texas, just six miles south of Dallas, is 16 miles north of the company’s current shared 33,000-sq.-ft. facility in Waxahachie, Texas.

The move allows Image Technology to provide indoor cold storage for up to 18 magnets as well as a repair base for high-end mobile equipment, Marshall Shannon, the company’s president, said.

Working indoors is key, Shannon said, as it allows workers to better maintain the delicate, multi-million dollar equipment, and not have to cancel needed repairs, such as changing out air conditioning in MRI systems, because of inclement weather.

“This is Texas,” Shannon said. “It can rain a whole day.”

Also, there’s better security within the warehouse, as thieves are known to rip the extension wires out of the belly box of parked magnets to sell the copper inside, he said.

Vendor neutrality 

Shannon said he plans on making storage options vendor-service neutral.

“We’ll store your mobile,” he said. “I don’t care who works on that mobile.”

Already, the company has struck deals with major OEMs like GE Healthcare and Philips Healthcare to use their facility as a place to store and work on their mobile equipment, while, for a fee, borrowing Imaging Technology’s scissor lifts, fork lifts and other heavy-duty machines.

“They can use our fork lifts, and get things repaired inside in a controlled environment,” Shannon said.

Dallas county and the surrounding region is a hub of high-end medical equipment service and parts companies. Shannon said he gets along with local businesses, and expects many to use his space.

“We don’t cut throats,” Shannon joked. “We stay friends with everybody.”

Shannon expects to begin operating from the new location by August 15.

We offer a wide range of services from site planning through clinical installation and full service support. Image also provides mobile storage, mobile restoration/conversion, engineer training, installations, de-installations, full service, and parts for major equipment manufacturers. Image can provide whatever level of support a client needs, from technical support through turnkey projects. New Facility The new Lancaster facility, just off of I-35E, is an 80,000 square foot facility providing room enough to store and refurbish multiple mobile MRI units inside! The in house mobile refurbishment program is one of a kind and Image welcomes you to come tour the new facility for all your mobile needs. Mobile environmental and trailer maintenance is available for everything surrounding the imaging system. Also available in the new facility is a 10 bay cryo-farm set up for magnet “keep cold” storage of stationary MRIs and outside mobile storage, with or without power. Mobile Storage We offer power pads for Mobile Medical units as well as all other large units that require real-time power and monitoring. We have the unique ability to store these units INSIDE our facility instead of out in the weather and elements. System staging is also available.

Parts Overview Image maintains at least a 98% stock level of Philips (Picker, Marconi, Philips) and 85% of Siemens MRI parts in our warehouses, in addition to having Hitachi, Toshiba, and GE parts on hand. Our tested parts are covered by a 90-day limited warranty (see parts policy for details), unless otherwise noted at time of purchase, plus there are incentive programs for returning customers. These tested parts are professionally packed so that you will always receive the working part you need in excellent condition. Service Image provides superior quality service contracts with cutting edge remote monitoring.Remote monitoring can save you time and money by allowing service engineers to troubleshoot your site in real time from anywhere. Often Image engineers can pinpoint the problem and your technician can have your machine scanning again within minutes. This technology has allowed Image to efficiently service throughout the US and internationally without even leaving the office, minimizing the expense of travel. Magnet Services Magnet cool-downs, pump-downs, cryogenic fills, ramp, shim, and cryogenic supplies are a normal service Image provides.

We stock 95% of all cold-head systems, helium compressors, fill lines, rental lines, and absorbers in stock. If we don’t have an item in stock we can usually provide 72-hour turnaround on any exchange part as well as 15 day turn around on rebuild/repairs. Export Exporting preparation and coordination is another service Image excels at; everything form mobile RO-RO shipments to system crating and container loads. All proper paperwork, including Dangerous Goods or Hazardous Goods certificates, is part of Images services. Why Image? Employees at Image pride themselves in providing the best service, parts, and troubleshooting skills. It is not unusual for Image to be the company providing technical expertise to other service companies, including OEMs. Image Technology is confident that they can provide the service and parts that you need at a fraction of the cost of the OEM.