AUE Expands Imaging Solutions Offering, Sets Sights on New Modalities

by Julie E. Williamson

Since its inception in 2001, Tulsa, OK-based Advanced Ultrasound Electronics LLC has been a name that’s synonymous with quality, honesty and integrity in the ultrasound imaging segment. Today, business is looking even more picture-perfect for AUE, with the company experiencing exceptional growth – both in terms of its staff, facilities and service offerings – and a renewed commitment to meeting customers’ varying and ever-evolving medical imaging needs.

What began as a 750 square foot dedicated repair facility for ultrasound parts and systems has grown into so much more. Now occupying more than 9,000 square feet, AUE has become a full-service provider for the ultrasound industry, encompassing dedicated sales for parts, new and refurbished ultrasound systems and comprehensive field service. And there’s much more to come. AUE is looking to move beyond the ultrasound segment in the near future, adding nuclear medicine, CT and MRI to the mix.

While corporate restructuring and expansion may alter some companies’ vision and core mission, that certainly hasn’t been the case for AUE. In fact, the company’s foundation – which has been built around providing a customer-centric, cost-effective alternative to manufacturer products and service – has never appeared more solid.

Here George Hryshchuk, director of sales, and James Smith, director of operations, share their thoughts on how AUE has evolved over the years, what’s been behind its ongoing success, and how the company is positioning itself to become an even more prominent partner in the medical imaging service sector.

AUE has undergone some significant growth and development recently. What would you say have been some of most significant changes?
AUE has always gone above and beyond to serve its customers, but our service offering has become much more comprehensive over the years. When AUE got started, we were primarily doing repairs; then we started doing exchanges and from there we added probes and peripherals. Although we were doing some service calls back then, that wasn’t really our focus. Today, we’re focusing much more on the end users, providing service and repairs, technical support, and parts, probe and system sales. It was really a natural progression. We became very good at supporting the product, so addressing equipment needs just made sense. After all, we’re out there in the field seeing what people need.

While our expertise has enabled us to become a full-service provider on the ultrasound side, it’s our commitment to quality customer service and technical support that have helped earn us a loyal customer base. Not only can AUE support independent service organizations and manufacturers with their multi-vendor products, we can also help biomedical departments troubleshoot their problems and provide them with the parts they need to cost-effectively fix their equipment. For every aspect of trouble that might occur in the ultrasound industry, we have an avenue to effectively address those problems.

We all know that the Internet is changing the way companies reach out to their customers. How is AUE addressing those needs?
Our website is a very important component of our business and we have spent a lot of time and effort updating it so it is information-rich and meets our customers’ needs on numerous levels. First of all, it is very informative. Our educational PowerPoint presentation, “Don’t Underestimate Reputation,” can be accessed from our homepage, along with breaking news that will be updated and posted on the 20th of every month. To drive further value for our customers, we will also be running Web specials.

We are also excited to have inventory search capabilities on our website. Customers can simply type in a part number and search our parts inventory, which is updated daily. We’re also about to incorporate our equipment inventory onto the website, which will feature actual photos of the systems we have available. We’ll continue updating our website to drive further value and convenience for our customers.

What does the future hold for AUE?
We are always working to update our equipment offering. As you know, technology is always advancing and evolving, so we need to stay on top of that in order to better serve our customers and offer cost-effective, quality alternatives to OEM service. There has been a big push by AUE to bring in hardware and software that will allow us to support the equipment that is just now coming off of manufacturer warranty. Our customers rely on us to stay abreast of the latest technology and we’re committed to doing just that. The next thing on our agenda is moving beyond ultrasound and into other modalities, such as nuclear medicine, MRI and CT. We have the expertise and the commitment to expand into these other areas, and we’ll continue looking for new ways to meet our customers’ needs.