Creating a New Future for Interventional Radiology in Argentina
Ms. Miyu Koide (middle) from Canon Medical Systems’ International Sales Department, Latin America & Canada Group (LAC), Canon Medical Systems Argentina (CMSAR) Service Manager Guido Alejandro Nicolini (left) and CMSAR ex-Vice President Takuya Yamaji (right) at Canon Medical’s headquarters
Argentina has an extensive healthcare system that is delivered through hospitals and clinics run by national, provincial, and local authorities, as well as private organizations. However, interventional radiology (IR) is still emerging as a medical discipline in the country, and its uptake in everyday clinical practice lags behind other countries. In 2023, there were only approximately 100 intervention rooms for interventional cardiology, interventional radiology, vascular interventions and neurointerventions in the country. VISIONS Special explores the role that Canon Medical Systems is playing in changing this situation by equipping healthcare professionals in Argentina with world-class interventional technology and expertise.
Ms. Miyu Koide (middle) from Canon Medical Systems’ International Sales Department, Latin America & Canada Group (LAC), Canon Medical Systems Argentina (CMSAR) Service Manager Guido Alejandro Nicolini (left) and CMSAR ex-Vice President Takuya Yamaji (right) at Canon Medical’s headquarters
Most of Argentina’s intervention centers are private or connected to universities. While all kinds of procedures are performed in existing interventional centers, including uterine fibroid embolization, prostatic embolization, pelvic congestion syndrome, TACE, peripheral embolization, angioplasty in vascular accesses, hepatic and pulmonary thermoablation, etc., some procedures are only performed in very limited places, such as hepatic radioembolization, which is only performed in three places in Argentina. In addition, there are currently very few IR training centers in the country. Due to this, Argentinian IR experts are initially trained outside the country, particularly in Europe.
With public health issues that include high rates of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, as well as emergency medicine and cancer in Argentina, interventional treatments hold great potential for safer, more direct, less invasive procedures that can significantly reduce demands on hospitals, healthcare professionals and patients. The Argentinian Ministry of Health (MOH), together with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations Development Program set out to improve IR capacity in the country. Canon Medical Systems was able to meet the requirements of a large-scale Interventional X-ray system project in Argentina.
With public health issues that include high rates of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, as well as emergency medicine and cancer in Argentina, interventional treatments hold great potential for safer, more direct, less invasive procedures that can significantly reduce demands on hospitals, healthcare professionals and patients. The Argentinian Ministry of Health (MOH), together with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations Development Program set out to improve IR capacity in the country. Canon Medical Systems was able to meet the requirements of a large-scale Interventional X-ray system project in Argentina.
Members of Canon Medical Systems Argentina(CMSAR) holding the commemorative plaque for their business award
Award-winning collaboration
Canon Medical Systems Argentina S.A. (CMSAR) and Latin America & Canada Group (LAC) of Canon Medical Systems provided a large number of Canon Medical Systems’ Alphenix Core + Interventional X-Ray systems in response to an invitation to tender issued by the Argentinian MOH. The two Canon Medical Systems subsidiaries worked closely together to successfully negotiate the complex and divergent tender conditions. The collaboration won a Canon Medical Group Business Award in 2023 – An accolade that recognizes teams that have overcome difficulty through tireless efforts and motivation to achieve outstanding results related to productivity improvement, efficiency improvement, product quality improvement, sales promotion, or cost reduction.
Ms. Miyu Koide from Canon Medical Systems’ International Sales Department, Latin America & Canada Group (LAC) was the Project Manager for the bid.
“According to data, the total Interventional X-ray system market in Argentina was not big, so we were very determined to win this bid,” she remarked. “CMSAR and the International Sales Department were deeply committed to satisfying all related parties during every stage of the process during this project.”
Argentina has suffered from high inflation rates and political instability for many years, and the project was conducted with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme. Due to this structure, there were strict conditions placed on the bidding vendors.
“With the full cooperation of the departments within Canon Medical Systems and the tremendous efforts of CMSAR, we were ultimately successful in receiving the order for 10 Alphenix Core + Interventional X-ray systems,” continued Ms. Koide.
Ms. Miyu Koide from Canon Medical Systems’ International Sales Department, Latin America & Canada Group (LAC) was the Project Manager for the bid.
“According to data, the total Interventional X-ray system market in Argentina was not big, so we were very determined to win this bid,” she remarked. “CMSAR and the International Sales Department were deeply committed to satisfying all related parties during every stage of the process during this project.”
Argentina has suffered from high inflation rates and political instability for many years, and the project was conducted with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme. Due to this structure, there were strict conditions placed on the bidding vendors.
“With the full cooperation of the departments within Canon Medical Systems and the tremendous efforts of CMSAR, we were ultimately successful in receiving the order for 10 Alphenix Core + Interventional X-ray systems,” continued Ms. Koide.
“With the full cooperation of the departments within Canon Medical Systems and the tremendous efforts of CMSAR, we were ultimately successful in receiving the order for 10 Alphenix Core + Interventional X-ray systems.”
Ms. Miyu Koide. Canon Medical System’s International Sales Department,
Latin America & Canada Group (LAC)
Fast, accurate installation
Ms. Koide recalls some of the considerable challenges that had to be overcome to succeed.
“As Argentina's MOH received financing for the project from external organizations, there was a strong requirement for early installation and inspection. In order to complete the inspection within 180 days, it would be necessary for the order input, manufacturing, and shipping to occur within about three months from the conclusion of the contract and the purchase order being received,” she explained. “At the time, there were still many delays in delivery dates due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on parts and materials. In some cases, it was taking more than six months for products to ship. To address this, even before we received the order, we negotiated with the manufacturing section to enable early shipment. Our manufacturing department managed to produce 10 units within the very short delivery window despite the difficulties of part shortages.”
“As Argentina's MOH received financing for the project from external organizations, there was a strong requirement for early installation and inspection. In order to complete the inspection within 180 days, it would be necessary for the order input, manufacturing, and shipping to occur within about three months from the conclusion of the contract and the purchase order being received,” she explained. “At the time, there were still many delays in delivery dates due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on parts and materials. In some cases, it was taking more than six months for products to ship. To address this, even before we received the order, we negotiated with the manufacturing section to enable early shipment. Our manufacturing department managed to produce 10 units within the very short delivery window despite the difficulties of part shortages.”
“Thanks to the tremendous cooperation of Canon Medical Systems’ Manufacturing and Systems Divisions, we were able to ship the systems four months after the order was received,” she remarked.
Streamlining internal processing
The project has led to enhanced processing in warranties. Originally, when it came to offering the two-year warranty, CMSAR, adjusted their system, and then the purchase was transferred to the Argentinian MOH. However, on the accounting side, processing is required in the system every month. This means that for 10 Interventional X-ray systems, corrections would have been required more than 100 times a year. In the face of this, Ms. Koide gained cooperation from various departments within the company including Financing & Accounting to streamline this process.
“The bid process also incentivized Canon Medical Systems to restructure the warranty program system for direct-to-consumer projects. This new structure can be used for future projects in other regions,” she commented.
“The bid process also incentivized Canon Medical Systems to restructure the warranty program system for direct-to-consumer projects. This new structure can be used for future projects in other regions,” she commented.
Hospital de la Provincia de La Pampa, one of MOH installation site
Hospital Regional Lamadrid, Monteros, Tucumán, MOH installation site.
Hospital Interdistrital Evita, Formosa, one of MOH installation site
Hospital Interdistrital Evita, Formosa, one of MOH installation site
Hospital de complejidad creciente, Santa Rosa, La Pampa, one of MOH installation site
Hospital de complejidad creciente, Santa Rosa, La Pampa, one of MOH installation site
“I believe that we were successful in this bid not only due to great efforts but also the cooperation of many people across many departments.”
Ms. Miyu Koide. Canon Medical System’s International Sales Department,
Latin America & Canada Group (LAC)
Cooperation across departments
Ms. Koide was pivotal in the success of this large-scale bid and helped stimulate the creation of new structures within Canon Medical Systems. “I believe that we were successful in this bid not only due to great efforts but also the cooperation of many people across many departments. I would like to thank them once again for their hard work,” she said. “As long as we are doing business in Argentina, the political and economic situation will be a challenge. I believe that we will again see cases with special conditions that will require the response of the entire company, not just the International Sales Department and CMSAR. I hope to continue working with those people in the company that supported us in this project, and to keep expanding sales in Argentina.”
Argentina has nearly 3,000 hospitals, over 3,300 operating rooms, and approximately 118,000 hospital beds. It has the highest hospital bed density in the Latin American and Caribbean region, with a total of 5.2 hospital beds available per 1,000 population. It also has one of the highest ratios in the number of physicians per 1,000 population. It also has three main healthcare programs: public health care, social security programs, and private health care.
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