Published: September 06, 2008 11:10 pm            

Taylor grads tout technology

Duo brings mobile ultrasounds to rural clinics

An ultrasound clinic that mainly catered to pregnant women has now expanded to include clients throughout north central Indiana — taking its technology on the road directly to its clients.

Beau and Jennifer (McCauley) White, both Taylor High School graduates, and her father, Greg McCauley, are partners in the Carmel-based Advanced Imaging Solutions, a company that takes mobile ultrasound scanning technology directly into doctors’ offices, clinics and rural hospitals.

Beau White said they started their business while living in Chicago, where he worked for pharmaceutical company Merck.

“We were always wanting to create income on our own,” he said, adding that Jennifer White read an article about the new 3D and 4D ultrasound technology, and found they could start an independent diagnosis imaging clinic.

They did some market research and put together a business plan and determined the Carmel area was the best opportunity. Using their own money, they leased their first ultrasound equipment. Now, White said, they’re able to pay cash when purchasing new equipment.

“We’re pretty proud of that.”

They opened Preview Ultrasound in Carmel in 2003, he said, mainly catering to pregnant women paying for the service themselves.

“We knew we wanted to apply for our Medicare number, start taking insurance, do everything ultrasound businesses can do,” White said.

Officials from General Electric invited them to headquarters in Milwaukee, where they saw how the technology was going to “laptop form, with great images,” White said.

They put together a plan and worked with their health-care attorneys to form Advanced Imaging Solutions, a company that would bring mobile ultrasound technology directly to doctors, two years ago. They transferred their clinic business strictly into the mobile business.

White said they contract with doctors to bring the service to their office as needed.

“Regardless of the geographic, we’ll go to a doctor’s office, we staff it and we supply the equipment. We also have radiologists they can utilize to do the reads,” he said, adding that with health-care costs going up and insurance companies willing to pay less, many doctors are cutting back on staff and equipment. This is a way they can provide the technology without having to own it, White said. The company also provides registered diagnostic medical sonographers to do the scans, which are sent via secure Internet connection to an Indiana board certified radiologist.

Jennifer White said having the service available levels the playing field for physicians, clinics and rural hospitals, and gives more control to the physicians and patients in time, distance and scheduling.

Most of their clients are in central Indiana, including Kokomo, Marion, Fort Wayne and Indianapolis.

He said about 90 percent of OB/GYNs and 60 percent of cardiologists will have some kind of ultrasound technology, but only 5 percent or 6 percent of internal medicine doctors find it cost effective to purchase the equipment, which is why those doctors are the focus of their biggest marketing push.

White thinks they’ve been successful by finding a niche to fill in the health care industry, which “always seems to be a stable sector in the economy.”

They also provide excellent patient care, he said, and ultrasound results within 24 hours.

Greg McCauley runs the business management aspect on a national level, consulting with people who want to start similar businesses, while Jennifer White manages the business and getting accounts. They all manage their own areas, Beau White said, and “we all do a great job in communicating and keeping each other accountable.”

He said at the beginning, the business was all they talked about at home, but as it has grown, they’ve learned to put boundaries between business and home.

“With Jennifer and myself, before, [the business] was everything we talked about at dinner. Now we get home, we put the cell phones down, the computers down, and we just concentrate on our relationship. That’s been awesome. The lines can get blurred when you run a business with your spouse. We do a great job of focusing on us.”

Danielle Rush may be reached at (765) 454-8585 or via e-mail at danielle.rush@kokomotribune.com

        

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