Canon is beginning to glimpse the stars (and stripes). The technological juggernaut is moving forward with preparations to establish a new MedTech-focused subsidiary in the United States. The company is hopeful that this step would ultimately strengthen its position within the international medical device market.

Canon Healthcare USA is going to merge with Canon Medical Systems USA, which is Canon Medical Systems’ subsidiary in the United States. This will result in Canon Medical Systems USA losing some of its business. According to a recent announcement made by Canon, the launch is scheduled to take place in January 2023 and will initially consist of approximately twenty employees. Hisashi Tachizaki, who is currently the vice president and general manager of Canon Medical Systems’ CT systems division, will serve as the company’s president.

Because of its status as a “key hub” in the healthcare industry in the United States, the Japanese parent firm is considering making the Cleveland area the permanent location of Canon Healthcare USA’s headquarters. The MRI technology manufacturer Quality Electrodynamics, which Canon purchased in 2019, is already based in the metropolitan area of the Midwest. After being integrated into the new subsidiary, Quality Electrodynamics will retain its current location. In addition, Hiroyuki Fujita, Ph.D., the originator of Quality Electrodynamics and the current CEO, has been provisionally considered for the role of chairperson of the new branch.

Canon has stated that it anticipates allocating a total of $300 million of its own investment money into the establishment of the subsidiary as well as the expansion of its medical device business in the United States.

Canon Healthcare USA will propose and create new products and tools with the intention of addressing current and future trends in the healthcare industry. In the process, Canon Healthcare USA will take on some of Canon’s global marketing operations. To a significant extent, it will do so by constructing a network of medical institutions that will assist the corporation in gathering information on the aforementioned trends as well as the most pressing demands of patients and clinicians.

Canon has stated that one of its goals for this work is to “capture the No. 1 share of the global CT market at an early stage.” One example of this work will involve Canon forming a partnership with some of those institutions in order to initiate research into the use of photon-counting detection modules in CT scanning technology. This is a recent and ongoing development in computed tomography that can produce sharper images with lower radiation emissions. Canon will then use the results of this research to rapidly roll out new technologies.

According to the announcement made by the parent company of the new subsidiary, Canon Medical Systems USA will hand over some portion of its product sales and service operations to the new subsidiary. The size of this portion is not yet known.

The decision to establish a second subsidiary in the United States is part of what Canon refers to as Phase VI of its Excellent Global Corporation Plan. This phase includes a goal of improving Canon’s competitiveness in a number of markets for medical components and diagnostics, including CT, MRI, and diagnostic ultrasound systems; X-ray tubes and detectors; healthcare IT; and in vitro diagnostics, to name a few.

The announcement of Canon’s plans to launch a new subsidiary comes during a time of sustained expansion not only in the company’s medical device business but also in its overall presence in the United States. According to the company’s financial report (PDF) for the third quarter, the company’s sales in the Americas for the first nine months of the year grew by about 26% year-over-year, hitting around 894 billion Japanese yen, which is equivalent to approximately $6.5 billion. The company’s imaging and medical businesses pulled in a combined 923.5 billion yen ($6.7 billion) over the period, which represents a 12% rise in comparison to the first nine months of the previous fiscal year.

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