In Charlotte, healthcare pros go hands-on to test Siemens’ latest medical devices
Walking through the showrooms of Siemens Healthineers, a medical tech company in Charlotte’s The Pearl district may feel like a trip inside the Star Trek starship Enterprise for the average person.
A large, curved screen taking up an entire wall greets visitors with a video that features vibrant blue and orange graphics. It displays doctors and patients discussing life-changing health solutions. On the next floor, luminescent images of internal organs — lungs, a brain, and skeletal structure — look like powerful artwork, showcasing the complex beauty of the human body.
These are not mere artistic renderings, however. They are real diagnostic images captured through cutting-edge tech.
But for doctors and healthcare professionals, a trip to the building is chance to shop for medical equipment that may look complicated for the average Joe or Jane not in the field.
The German company launched its first U.S.-based Experience Center in late-September at The Pearl, the $1.5 billion mixed-use development with retail, offices, apartments and academic spaces centered around the Charlotte campus for Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Senior Vice President Manny Niebla recently showed off what Siemens has to offer to medical professionals across the Americas. This includes a mix of lab testing, imaging and diagnostic technologies.
“Customers will be able to come see the machines running, see how it’s done and see how they operate,” said Niebla, who also serves as senior vice president of marketing for North America. “They can see how it fits into their process and their systems at hospitals.”
The 60,000-square-foot, two-story facility is designed to be a premier destination for healthcare providers to experience and evaluate the company’s medical technology.
The demonstration center allows visitors to use Siemen’s newest medical technology.
This includes machinery such as automated lab equipment for blood tests, advanced imaging machines like CT scanners and MRIs, and cancer treatment and heart care devices.
The equipment on display varies widely in cost, with some high-end machines valued at up to around $3 million.
Why Siemens picked Charlotte
John Kowal, president and head of the Americas for Siemens Healthineers, said the opportunity to be a part of The Pearl was what brought to the company several years ago. Siemens made the decision to join the district because of its strong focus on medicine and science. The company also has a large U.S. presence.
Siemens Healthineers invested $141 million into the Pearl to be a part of the district.
“This is the only facility we’re aware of in the world that actually has all of our medical equipment under one roof,” Kowal said, referring to tech addressing critical healthcare needs such as cancer, Alzheimer’s and orthopedics.
“How do we create an experience where customers could come in, and they could see how we touch all these pieces throughout various stages, from screening all the way through helping the doctors with the diagnostic capabilities, the therapy, and the post follow-up care?”
Charlotte was also selected because of its airport, the sixth busiest in the world.
“We bring people from all around the country, all around the Americas,” Niebla noted, mentioning a scheduled visit from Alberta Health Services of Canada. The company expects to see thousands of domestic and international visitors annually for equipment procurement and medical conferences.
Along with showcasing equipment, Kowal said the excitement of being at The Pearl comes with meeting healthcare leaders from all over the world.
A mock ICU and other showcases
In addition to the technology, the facility also features a mock Intensive Care Unit to demonstrate to customers how the products fit within limited ICU spaces and how they function together.
The facility was built on partnerships with organizations like IRCAD North America, a surgical training and research center, and the medical school, the first four-year institution for the Charlotte region.
The Siemens center has about 12 showcase areas where visitors can explore different types of medical technology and plan integrations to make different devices, programs, and data systems work together easily.
Kowal pointed out technology in the showcase for minimally invasive or non-invasive procedures, which do not involve cutting the skin or entering the body with surgical tools. This means fewer external cuts, which lead to faster patient recovery times and shorter hospital stays compared to traditional surgical methods.
“We’ve all had loved ones, family, and friends who have gone through cancer care, if not ourselves,” Kowal said. “We want to make that experience as painless as possible and as quick as possible.”
AI helps at the Pearl too
Siemens is one of many companies operating at The Pearl.
Siemens employs close to 800 people across North Carolina, along with about 17,000 throughout the U.S. and 74,000 worldwide. More than 10 people work in the Experience Center in Charlotte, and the company also operates a technical training center in Cary and has partnerships with health systems in North Carolina.
Showcase areas include lab diagnostics and equipment for body screenings, such as those for lung, prostate, or breast cancer. Kowal also noted that Siemens has placed a lot of focus on software and AI to help doctors make faster decisions.
This is done through technology such as Deep Resolve, which uses AI to speed up MRI scans without sacrificing image quality.
Another program like AI-Rad companion helps radiologists by automatically measuring, highlighting problem areas and creating detailed reports from CT and MRI scans, such as chest or prostate scans. This makes it easier to manage more cases quickly.
“The workforce is incredibly burdened right now,” Kowal said. “We’re also investing to try to consolidate and make that work-life experience better for the docs as well, so they can focus more of their time on talking with the patient.”
One such example of a product at the Charlotte campus: A photon-counting CT is new imaging technology that gives doctors clearer, high-resolution images with a much lower radiation dose. This means patients can make fewer trips to the doctor and get more precise diagnoses, especially for things like heart scans and cancer.
It helps doctors spot problems in blood vessels more easily and plan treatments better, which can reduce the need for repeated procedures. Overall, the goal is to improve patient experience by making tests quicker, safer and less stressful, so people spend less time in clinics and get better care.
It also reduces frustration for patients, Kowal added. Most people don’t mind sitting still for 10 minutes, but waiting for half an hour can be tough.
“The patient experience is very important to make sure that we try to get them in and out as quickly as possible with the most information for the doctors to make the best decision for each and every patient,” Kowal said.
And at The Pearl, Siemens Healthineers offers plenty for doctors to improve experiences for patients.
This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 5:50 AM.
