STO has launched GE Healthcare’s Vscan portable ultrasound scanner in the Maldives.
STO Chief Executive and Managing Director Shimad Ibrahim launched the device at a ceremony at Hotel Jen on Tuesday night. Jagdish Babu, GE Healthcare’s Sales Head for South Asia, attended the launch.
The Vscan is a handheld unit that connects to iPhones, Android phones and laptops. It produces images in standard DICOM format, which allows clinicians to share scans with hospitals and specialists elsewhere in the country.
STO’s healthcare team expects the device to extend scanning services beyond clinic consultation rooms. The company says the format suits the Maldives, where a dispersed island population makes it costly to install full ultrasound equipment at every health facility.
Distribution and Service
STO is the authorized distributor for GE Healthcare in the Maldives. Hospitals and clinics across the country already use the brand’s equipment, and radiologists rate it highly.
The company has built out its after-sales capacity to support the range. STO’s biomedical team has trained engineers for each GE Healthcare modality, including MRI, CT, mammography and ultrasound. The team includes Maldivian women working as engineers.
Service capacity carries commercial weight in this market. Repair delays on diagnostic equipment can take an island health center out of service for weeks.
Wider Strategy
The GE Healthcare Vscan Maldives launch follows a run of medical technology introductions by STO’s healthcare division. The company has positioned itself as a supplier of specialized equipment to both government and private health providers.
STO describes the launch as part of its continuing work to bring new medical products into the Maldivian market.