Key corporate members and staff from the Medical Imaging Technology Alliance (MITA) are launching a new medical imaging technology division at medical technology trade association Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed).
Effective January 1, 2024, the firms will be leaving the National Electrical Manufacturing Association (NEMA), which has housed MITA since 2007. Prominent imaging vendors such as Bayer, Fujifilm Sonosite, GE HealthCare, Hologic, Philips, and Siemens Healthineers have led the effort to launch the division at AdvaMed, which will be responsible for advocating on behalf of imaging equipment companies providing imaging equipment, radiopharmaceuticals, contrast media, and focused ultrasound devices, according to AdvaMed.
“We are bringing all of the imaging work [previously done at MITA] into AdvaMed under the AdvaMed umbrella,” said AdvaMed President and CEO Scott Whitaker. “The imaging companies that have been doing the advocacy and policy work at MITA will be coming over to join us in 2024 and we’ll take on that work going forward.”
MITA had been the imaging equipment industry’s primary advocacy group since its launch by NEMA in 2007 to encompass NEMA’s imaging-related activities. However, the imaging companies in MITA felt that their advocacy work would be a better fit as part of an association focused on healthcare technology, rather than in an organization primarily focused on electrical manufacturing, according to Whitaker.
AdvaMed currently counts approximately 450 companies as members and represents all aspects of medical technology.
“Imaging is such an important component of [medical technology] in the healthcare system and it just makes a lot of sense for those companies to align their work here,” Whitaker told AuntMinnie.com. “If you look at the list of issues that imaging industry companies really care about, whether it’s supply chain issues, artificial intelligence, or cybersecurity, or ‘right to repair’, those are the same issues that we’ll continue to work on over here on behalf of our [imaging] companies, but integrated into the work that other companies that are not imaging companies are doing as well. Frankly, the work is very, very aligned already.”
Between 40 and 50 vendors are currently involved in MITA, and AdvaMed is currently in the process of determining how many will come over to join the new medical imaging technology division.
“We expect most if not all of them will join us next year as well,” Whitaker said.
A board of directors comprised of imaging company executives will oversee the new division, which will be led by Patrick Hope, former executive director of MITA. In addition, Peter Weems, who led MITA’s government affairs and policy strategy, will also be coming on board along with other former MITA staff, according to AdvaMed.
“We’re lifting the resources out of MITA and bringing them over to AdvaMed, including the staff that were doing the policy and advocacy and operations work for MITA there,” he said. “So the entire operation will shift over here, which is why I suspect the entire membership will shift over as well.”
Meanwhile, GE HealthCare President and CEO Peter Arduini has now been elected as chair of AdvaMed.
AdvaMed also noted that it will release an updated version of its “Medical Innovation Agenda for the 118th Congress.” This list of policy and legislative priorities will also include a new set of priorities for the medical imaging sector, the association said.
For its part, NEMA has reiterated its intent to remain active in medical imaging. MITA remains at NEMA "with all members retained," according to a NEMA spokesperson.
"NEMA looks forward to continuing to serve those members in standardization, market data programs and, for PET technologies, advocacy," the spokesperson told AuntMinnie.com.
