Elscint
Encyclopedia
Elscint Ltd. was an Israeli technology company that development, manufacture and sold medical imaging
solutions, including: Nuclear medicine
, computed tomography
magnetic resonance imaging
and X-ray
scanners. Elscint's shares traded on the NASDAQ
as well as on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
. At its heyday Elscint was a world leader in the development of medical imaging
technologies. Most of Elscint's activities were sold to GE Healthcare
and Philips Medical Systems.
Elscint was founded as a subsidiary of Elron with an initial investment of 250.000 US dollars, Suhami was appointed as the company's CEO and Dan Tolkovsky
(who was the CEO of Discount Investment Corporation parent of Elron at the time) was appointed as Chairman.
The first product developed by the company was a nuclear measurement device for laboratory testing, but since the entire global market for the device was a few hundred units, which sold for $ 800 only, it was decided to refocus on the field of medical imaging
. Elscint's first product in this field was a nuclear camera designed to detect cancer, but it failed commercially. Later, the company developed the VDP1, a gamma scanner used to monitor radioactive isotopes in the body. The product, sold at a price of $ 25,000 and was the first in the world with digital imaging capability.
This VDP1 was the Elscint's first commercial success, and helped the company to reach sales of a million dollars, with a loss of $ 25,000 at the end of first year of operation. The VDP1 product was displayed in trade show in Los Angeles
and drew the attention of General Electric
, the world leader in medical imaging; and in 1971, Elscint and General Electric signed an exclusive distribution agreement in North America. General Electric insisted that the product met its quality standards, forcing the young company to expand its technical capabilities and its manufacturing capabilities quickly. In 1972, in order to bring the company's products to world markets outside North America, Elscint opened its first international sales and marketing subsidiary in Belgium
.
venture capital
ist, invested in Elscint and 1972 helped the company undertake an initial public offering
on the NASDAQ
, making Elscint the first Israeli company to list on the NASDAQ.
The company's sales began a steady growth, from $21 million in 1979 to $42 million in 1981. That year, Elscint, which by that time had provided more than 100 CT scanners to hospitals and research institutes around the world, acquired Pfizer's CT scanner business. Elscint's market share grow to 10 percent by the middle of the 1980s.
In the first half of the eighties Elscint acquired several other companies and also expanded its product offering to nuclear cameras, ultrasound, digital and conventional X-ray equipment, thus providing products for all medical imaging technologies. In addition, the company began developing its own equipment for the latest breakthrough in medical imaging at the time, magnetic resonance imaging
systems. By 1983 the company had sales of $132 million and a net profit of $12.6 million. The company had more than 3,000 employees in factories, research and development facilities in Boston, England, Paris, Milan, Jerusalem, Haifa and Chicago.
By 1996, Elscint's revenues reached $311 million.
During 1999 and 2000 Elscint and Elbit Medical Imaging sold their imaging activities to GE Healthcare
and to Philips Medical Systems) for approximately $600 million.
In 1999 Elron Electronic Industries
sold all its holdings in Elbit Medical Imaging to Europe Israel Ltd., formerly an Israeli company listed on the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange and controlled by real estate developer Mordechay (Moti) Zisser , for a sum of approximately $127.8 million.
Following the acquisition in May 1999, Zisser integrated his existing real estate activities into the company and restructured Elbit Medical Imaging as a holding company
, focusing on: real estate
, hotels development, shopping and entertainment malls.
In 2005 Elscint was delisted and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Elbit Medical Imaging. By that time, Elscint was no longer engaged in its original medical imaging equipment activities.
Medical imaging
Medical imaging is the technique and process used to create images of the human body for clinical purposes or medical science...
solutions, including: Nuclear medicine
Nuclear medicine
In nuclear medicine procedures, elemental radionuclides are combined with other elements to form chemical compounds, or else combined with existing pharmaceutical compounds, to form radiopharmaceuticals. These radiopharmaceuticals, once administered to the patient, can localize to specific organs...
, computed tomography
Computed tomography
X-ray computed tomography or Computer tomography , is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing...
magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance imaging , or magnetic resonance tomography is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structures...
and X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
scanners. Elscint's shares traded on the NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
as well as on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in Tel Aviv is Israel's only stock exchange.The TASE is the only public market for trading securities in Israel. It plays a major role in the Israeli economy....
. At its heyday Elscint was a world leader in the development of medical imaging
Medical imaging
Medical imaging is the technique and process used to create images of the human body for clinical purposes or medical science...
technologies. Most of Elscint's activities were sold to GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare is a division of GE Technology Infrastructure, which is itself a division of General Electric . It employs more than 46,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. GE Healthcare is the first GE business segment to be headquartered...
and Philips Medical Systems.
Early Years
Elscint (a portmanteau of the words "electronic" and "scientific) was founded in 1969 by Dr. Avraham Suhami, who was a nuclear physics professor at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology at the time, after receiving encouragement to apply his scientific and technical knowledge for commercial applications from Uzia Galil, founder of Elron, a technology investment company.Elscint was founded as a subsidiary of Elron with an initial investment of 250.000 US dollars, Suhami was appointed as the company's CEO and Dan Tolkovsky
Dan Tolkovsky
Aluf Dan Tolkovsky was the commander of the Israeli Air Force from May 1953 to July 1958. Tolkovsky entered the military in 1943, when the Royal Air Force sent a Jewish unit from Palestine to train at a flight school in Rhodesia ...
(who was the CEO of Discount Investment Corporation parent of Elron at the time) was appointed as Chairman.
The first product developed by the company was a nuclear measurement device for laboratory testing, but since the entire global market for the device was a few hundred units, which sold for $ 800 only, it was decided to refocus on the field of medical imaging
Medical imaging
Medical imaging is the technique and process used to create images of the human body for clinical purposes or medical science...
. Elscint's first product in this field was a nuclear camera designed to detect cancer, but it failed commercially. Later, the company developed the VDP1, a gamma scanner used to monitor radioactive isotopes in the body. The product, sold at a price of $ 25,000 and was the first in the world with digital imaging capability.
This VDP1 was the Elscint's first commercial success, and helped the company to reach sales of a million dollars, with a loss of $ 25,000 at the end of first year of operation. The VDP1 product was displayed in trade show in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and drew the attention of General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
, the world leader in medical imaging; and in 1971, Elscint and General Electric signed an exclusive distribution agreement in North America. General Electric insisted that the product met its quality standards, forcing the young company to expand its technical capabilities and its manufacturing capabilities quickly. In 1972, in order to bring the company's products to world markets outside North America, Elscint opened its first international sales and marketing subsidiary in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
IPO on NASDAQ
In 1971, Fred Adler, an East CoastEast Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
ist, invested in Elscint and 1972 helped the company undertake an initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
on the NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
, making Elscint the first Israeli company to list on the NASDAQ.
Elscint becomes a leading force in the medical imaging market
By 1975 sales of gamma scanners and other products generated $12 million in revenue, and a profit of $ 400,000 for Elscint, and Avraham Suhami decided to enter a new market - Computerized tomography, at the time a new emerging medical imaging technology. The company spent 2 years developing a Computerized tomography scanner, which it started selling in 1977.The company's sales began a steady growth, from $21 million in 1979 to $42 million in 1981. That year, Elscint, which by that time had provided more than 100 CT scanners to hospitals and research institutes around the world, acquired Pfizer's CT scanner business. Elscint's market share grow to 10 percent by the middle of the 1980s.
In the first half of the eighties Elscint acquired several other companies and also expanded its product offering to nuclear cameras, ultrasound, digital and conventional X-ray equipment, thus providing products for all medical imaging technologies. In addition, the company began developing its own equipment for the latest breakthrough in medical imaging at the time, magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance imaging , or magnetic resonance tomography is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structures...
systems. By 1983 the company had sales of $132 million and a net profit of $12.6 million. The company had more than 3,000 employees in factories, research and development facilities in Boston, England, Paris, Milan, Jerusalem, Haifa and Chicago.
By 1996, Elscint's revenues reached $311 million.
Breakup of Elscint
In 1990 Elbit Computers Ltd, a sister company of Elscint and a subsidiary of Elron, acquired a majority share in Elscint. In 1996, Elbit Computers was spun off into three independent companies, one of them Elbit Medical Imaging became the holding company of Elscint.During 1999 and 2000 Elscint and Elbit Medical Imaging sold their imaging activities to GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare is a division of GE Technology Infrastructure, which is itself a division of General Electric . It employs more than 46,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. GE Healthcare is the first GE business segment to be headquartered...
and to Philips Medical Systems) for approximately $600 million.
In 1999 Elron Electronic Industries
Elron Electronic Industries
Elron Electronic Industries is a technology holding company based in Haifa Israel; since 1962 the company has been involved in setting-up, funding and developing over 30 companies and is considered one of the foundation stones of the high-tech industry in Israel...
sold all its holdings in Elbit Medical Imaging to Europe Israel Ltd., formerly an Israeli company listed on the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange and controlled by real estate developer Mordechay (Moti) Zisser , for a sum of approximately $127.8 million.
Following the acquisition in May 1999, Zisser integrated his existing real estate activities into the company and restructured Elbit Medical Imaging as a holding company
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
, focusing on: real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
, hotels development, shopping and entertainment malls.
In 2005 Elscint was delisted and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Elbit Medical Imaging. By that time, Elscint was no longer engaged in its original medical imaging equipment activities.