Medequip Biomedical

Michael Balakonis

Focused on providing an alternative for purchasing or renting aftermarket products, MedEquip Biomedical (Miami) is a national independent service and repair center for physiological monitors and monitoring service components. Michael Balakonis, president and co-founder of MedEquip Biomedical, recently spoke with 24x7 about what makes the company unique and how it overcomes the challenge of keeping up with the evolution of patient-monitoring technology.

24x7: What needs does MedEquip Biomedical satisfy in the biomedical industry?
Balakonis: In response to the needs of the growing customer community, MedEquip Biomedical sells and rents a variety of preowned, refurbished, and reconditioned patient monitors, offering clients an alternative to buying new physiological monitors. We specialize in the product lines of four major manufacturers, including HP/Philips, GE Marquette, Spacelabs, and Siemens. Additionally, we soon will begin offering support of Datascope monitors. This product offering satisfies more than 90% of the installed base of physiological monitors in the United States.

24x7: What factors make MedEquip Biomedical unique?
Balakonis: MedEquip Biomedical is owned and managed by biomedical professionals. This gives the company a unique expertise and level of experience to provide unparalleled service solutions. The technical support center is staffed by former in-house biomedical technicians who have been through the manufacturers’ service schools and offer free technical support for their major product lines. There also are staff members who are former employees of monitor manufacturers. Our level of phone support offered to customers is equal to, or better than, what manufacturers provide.

24x7: With regard to the industry, what challenges have the company faced? What has the company done to overcome these challenges?
Balakonis: As patient-monitoring technology has evolved, so have we. We have stayed current in the industry by continuously reinvesting in research and development to offer innovative products. As a result, we are beginning to shift our focus toward current-generation patient-monitoring equipment.

The first two product lines we plan to introduce will be our LCD/electroluminescent panel repair/exchange program and our WMTS telemetry. We are moving forward, and we are consistently overcoming technology hurdles. Special sourcing, reverse engineering projects, and expansion of our electronics laboratory advance our ability to accomplish more multilayered, surface-mount, and microprocessor-based printed circuit board repair. The newer-style multiparameter module repair program will be one result of this effort. This will allow MedEquip Biomedical to continue to provide a quality second-source and cost-effective service solution for OEM’s current and older-generation products.

24x7: What would you like 24x7 readers to learn about MedEquip Biomedical?
Balakonis: MedEquip Biomedical is in the process of moving from our four-building campus to a new, state-of-the-art, 20,000-sq-ft facility. We sponsor biomedical societies nationwide, and we are the main sponsor of the online discussion forum BiomedTalk. We also are proud to have Bruce Maden on the team; he serves on the educational committee of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation for 2005. 24x7