HT37 ASTERAL TO ALTHEA IMAGESignalling the most historic change in the medical equipment service industry since the introduction of vendor-independence, eight leading service providers have unified operations under a single brand – Althea.

This combination of independent service companies, including Asteral, MESA, and TBS, has significantly increased the choice hospitals now have when they procure equipment and maintenance.

Focused on efficient solutions and reducing whole-life costs, Althea offers an alternative to the traditional original equipment manufacturers. Entirely vendor-independent, Althea’s services cover all hospital areas – from radiology to radiotherapy, from cardiology to biomed.

Althea’s in-house engineers maintain equipment directly to the highest standards underpinned by ISO-certified quality assurance.

With close to 3,000 staff worldwide, Althea is now the largest independent provider of medical equipment services with 1.4 million medical devices under management in more than 1,700 healthcare facilities. Althea focuses on its breadth and quality of service, freeing its customers to focus on patient care.

In the UK & Ireland, Althea offers sustainable healthcare technology solutions including:

Diagnostic imaging maintenance
Endoscopy maintenance
Biomed maintenance and training services
Managed services in radiology, cardiology, radiotherapy, endoscopy and biomed.
Clinical consumable management service
Rental of mobile MR & CT scanners, ultrasounds and endoscopes
Pre-owned equipment – buying and selling
Ultrasound probe and MR coil evaluation/repair.

HT37 ASTERAL TO ALTHEA IMAGE 2-Althea’s engineers, technicians, and customer service specialists already support more than 300 hospitals deliver financial savings and operational efficiencies, while making a positive difference to patient experiences.

The companies that have been bought together by Althea are:

Asteral – managed service provider including integrated cardiology and interventional radiology clinical consumables management
MESA, MVS, Spintech, and Sigil – diagnostic imaging multi-vendor maintenance service providers
TBS and Higèa – biomed multi-vendor service providers
Ed Sloan & Associates – refurbished imaging equipment, spare parts, and engineer training

Within the new group, an unparalleled network of diagnostic imaging Centres of Excellence have been established in Reading, Milan, Mikołów (Poland), and Nashville providing Althea with ISO13485-accredited multi-vendor engineer training and spare parts testing facilities.

David Rolfe, UK&I Chief Executive Officer comments:

“Asteral, MESA, and TBS have been pioneering in the UK & Ireland for over 15 years.

“Now, as Althea, we have the capability and infrastructure to support clinical teams across all hospital departments – from cardiology to endoscopy, from an infusion pump to an MR scanner.
“We use our scale and experience to leverage and deliver high-quality medical equipment, maintenance, and clinical consumables to optimise patient outcomes, while providing the best possible value at all times.”

Alessandro Dogliani, Group Chief Executive Officer of Althea comments:

“We are at a tipping-point in our industry. There is now so much complex medical equipment in service in hospitals, clinics, and health centres that their need for an independent technology partner is essential.

“We have launched a company that brings together pioneers and experts from across the industry. Althea can offer a breadth and quality of service that no-one else in our market can match. We are committed to working with customers to improve healthcare services.”