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TWST: Can we start with a historical background and overview of Siemens Medical Solutions?

Dr. Reinhardt: Siemens has a very long tradition in the medical industry. For over 125 years we have continually focused on innovation and on offering trendsetting healthcare products, systems, and solutions. For example, in 1896 a few months after the invention of X-Ray, we produced the first X-Ray tube . . . a very short time-to-market even at that time!

TWST: Can you talk about any new developments since we last spoke with you about a year ago?

Dr. Reinhardt: Again, I definitely have to highlight syngo. I think the 10,000 licenses confirm the tremendous advantages that our customers see. And we will be coming out with new versions and making even more improvements to the clinical application packages. Then there is Soarian, a health information solution that addresses the key issues of workflow. We’ve already introduced Soarian Clinical Access, which is a browser that allows each and every workstation in a network access to all of the necessary clinical data and images. There is also our 16 slice CT, the Somatom Sensation 16, which has been a tremendous success; we’ve received more than 400 orders! We’ve also had success with our 3 Tesla MR product. In the last two years we have installed significantly more systems than any of our competitors. We’ve made great progress with our new angiography and X-Ray systems products, the Axiom Artis and the Axiom Aristos. Our new PET/CT Biograph LSO has helped to optimize our customers’ workflow through its use of new crystal technology. Examination time can come down to less than 15 minutes, a significant improvement.

TWST: What would you say are your competitive advantages?

Dr. Reinhardt: Our competitive advantage is first and foremost our innovative technology. It is also the truly unique and comprehensive portfolio that I mentioned. If you look at what is required for a supplier in the market, you need to be able to offer solutions to improve efficiency in the healthcare system, which means that the quality of care has to go up and the costs have to come down. To do this you have to have innovative diagnostic and therapeutic technologies. You have to have IT solutions and networking. And you have to have workflow and service know-how. We have this and at this time there is no competitor that can offer a comparable portfolio.

TWST: Can you talk about future growth strategies?

Dr. Reinhardt: First, we will continue to grow by innovation and by developing partnerships with our customers. In the past we had more supplier-type relationships with them. By becoming a solution provider, we will increasingly enter into real partnerships. We see tremendous opportunities in the area of workflow optimization to help improve the processes at our customers’ sites. One particularly interesting aspect here is that we define our processes from the customer to the customer. Customers are an integrated part of our business processes. They are involved at a very, very early phase and the entire organization is sensitive to their needs. We are market oriented and solutions driven. Also, we have an internal program that we established as a part of Siemens overall top + initiative that we see as our enabler. The program is called P³ and it stands for People, Processes, and Products. We will continue to vigorously apply this program in order to become more efficient, more innovative, and faster, as well as to have the right people on board and as a result to have innovative products and solutions that allow us to continue to grow.