Ziehm Imaging GmbH - History of Innovation

First founded in 1972 as a major OEM supplier for automatic exposure control devices and medical imaging systems, Ziehm set precedence in the medical imaging market with the first automatic timer to control medical X-rays.

This was one of many firsts for Ziehm, which, in 1979, was the first company to install a hardcopy camera inside a monitor cart.

Just nine years later, Ziehm was the first to offer a C-arm with an integrated system for subtraction angiography. Continuing to make significant advances in the medical imaging market Ziehm introduced the first compact C-arm on the market in 1983.

In 1992, to accommodate its rapid growth, Ziehm opened its U.S. corporate office in Riverside. Just three years later, the company introduced the IMS2000 third generation digital imaging system to the U.S. market – the first true 10-bit digitizer with 1287H X 1049V X 10-bit display for mobile C-arms.

In 2000, Instrumentarium Corp. acquired both Ziehm companies in Germany and the U.S. and the company name was changed to Instrumentarium Imaging Ziehm, GmbH (Nuremberg, Germany) and Instrumentarium Imaging Ziehm, Inc. (Riverside, CA). That same year at RSNA in Chicago, IL, the company first introduced the Ziehm Vision C-arm with its unique new VisionCenter™ touch-screen user interface.

Then, General Electric Medical Systems (GE) acquired Instrumentarium in October 2003. In order to finalize the acquisition of Instrumentarium, GE complied with the U.S. Department of Justice requirement to divest the Ziehm business worldwide. Both Ziehm companies – Instrumentarium Imaging Ziehm, GmbH and Instrumentarium Imaging Ziehm, Inc. – merged into one company named Ziehm Imaging when acquired by ATON, GmbH; a German asset management company.

That same year, Ziehm Imaging introduced as a trendsetter the Ziehm Vision FD, Ziehm Vision R and the Ziehm Vario 3D to the market. The Ziehm Vario 3D provides operator friendly 3D imaging, while its concept of “virtual mechanics” allows iso-centric image capture based on the standard size Ziehm C-arm.

The Ziehm Vision FD is the first fully digital mobile C-arm in the world with an integrated silicon-based flat panel detector and custom-made imaging system to provide distortion-free images with superior dynamic range in image contrast.

For this unique product innovation, Ziehm is the winner of the “Product Innovation Award 2006” from Frost & Sullivan.

The Ziehm Vision R offers added power reserves for demanding procedures particularly in the areas of vascular surgery (e.g. AAA, PTCA) and cardiology (e.g. coronary angioplasties).

Its powerful, ultra-compact monoblock generator with rotating anode X-ray tube provides outstanding image quality while ensuring consistent dose minimization

These three products represent a huge step forward in advancements for the medical imaging market – putting Ziehm years ahead of its competitors.