Hitachi Receives Multi-Unit Open MR Order From Major Integrated Health Delivery Network System.

Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers

TWINSBURG, Ohio--(BW HealthWire)--Dec. 12, 2000

Hitachi Medical Systems America, Inc. (HMSA) announced that they were selected as the supplier of Open MR imaging systems for the member hospitals for Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation of Memphis, Tennessee. The three year agreement is for Hitachi's AIRIS(R) II high-performance Open MR system, which has established a strong market leadership position. "We are proud to be chosen by Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation", a major integrated health delivery network, stated William Valters, Vice President of Sales at HMSA.

Hitachi's selection as preferred supplier for Open MRI followed a lengthy competitive evaluation by Baptist. The first machine was installed at Baptist Memorial Rehabilitation Hospital located in Germantown, Tennessee. There, Hitachi's AIRIS II high-performance Open MR imaging system demonstrated consistently high image quality, a wide range of clinical capabilities and a track record of reliable performance under heavy patient volume. They have also installed AIRIS II systems at their acute care hospitals located in Union City, Tennessee; Blytheville, Arkansas; New Albany, Mississippi; and Columbus, Mississippi.

The AIRIS II Open MR imaging system features an award-winning "Open-Air" gantry that is open on all four sides for greater patient comfort and easy access. Its advanced permanent magnet design, powerful gradients and digital electronics combine to deliver excellent image quality over a wide range of imaging techniques.

Hitachi Medical Systems America, Inc. markets premium, high performance magnetic resonance (MR) imaging products of Hitachi Medical Corporation, Tokyo, Japan. These include the AIRIS(R) and AIRIS II Open MR systems with advanced permanent magnet technology, and the new Altaire(TM) high-field performance Open MR system. HMSA has established itself as a major provider of magnetic resonance imaging systems with more than 900 systems installed throughout the United States and 2,000 worldwide. Since the company first popularized the concept of Open MR a decade ago, it has been the fastest growing segment of MR imaging, and today accounts for nearly 50 percent of all MR imaging system sales.

One of the largest not-for-profit health systems in the United States, Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation was created in 1981 to provide an integrated health care delivery system offering a full continuum of care to communities throughout the Mid-South. With the intention of caring for people close to their homes, the BMHCC network consists of 17 hospitals plus a planned women's hospital in East Memphis; more than 2,500 affiliated physicians; home, hospice and psychiatric care throughout the tri-state area; minor medical centers and clinics; a chain of surgery, rehabilitation and other outpatient centers; and an education system highlighted by the Baptist College of Health Sciences. Baptist employs approximately 13,000 people and, in 1999, admitted approximately 100,000 patients. It is one of the top-rated integrated health care delivery systems in the country, according to the American Hospital Association, and the only Memphis-based provider that spans three states.

For more information please contact:

Sheldon Schaffer
Hitachi Medical Systems America, Inc.
1959 Summit Commerce Park
Twinsburg, Ohio 44087
800.800.3106 or 330.425.1313 Ext. 5447
330.425.1410 Fax
[e-mail]
Web site: www.hitachimed.com

Echelle Lane
Corporation Public Relations Manager
Baptist Memorial Health Care
[phone]

Robert Ripley
Insource Communications, Inc.
1096 Sheerbrook Dr.
Chagrin Falls, Ohio 44022
440.338.4683
440.338.4684 Fax
[e-mail]