PEABODY — Imagine getting a bit role opposite actor Jennifer Lopez in her next major film, "The Back-up Plan."
An unlikely star, Fetal Gard Lite, a prenatal monitor built by Peabody-based Analogic, did just that in the form of placed products on the movie set.
The device appears in hospital scenes with Lopez. She plays Zoe, a single woman who decides to be artificially inseminated only to meet Mr. Right the day of the procedure, according to the CBS film's Web site.
Since 2007, products from medical-devices company Analogic have been appearing in television hospital dramas and soap opera mainstays like "General Hospital."
Patricia Peters, advertising and trade show coordinator, said Analogic received its first call for TNT's hospital drama "Heartland" and has since had its devices, primarily monitors, appear in shows like "HawthoRNe," "Private Practice" and "Royal Pains."
Mark Namaroff, director of strategic marketing and investor relations, said the company's Life Gard patient monitors, which show vital signs like heart rate and blood pressure, have made the cut as props next to hospital beds.
Namaroff said it's difficult to know if the product placement has translated into any sales.
"We hope that just our name is associated with patient-monitor technology," he said.
The more Analogic's name is tied to the monitors, the better the possibility doctors and high-tech companies, who repackage under their own names, come to Analogic.
In the meantime, the company notes its devices' cameos in internal newsletters.
"Employees kind of get excited about it, especially employees working on the product," Namaroff said.
Analogic lends the production companies devices and shoulders the cost for its employees to do the technical support.
"Of course, it's on our nickel," Namaroff said.
Deb Cole, a specialized product placement consultant for CBS, said FCC rules prohibit companies from paying to have their products on air. Cole, who's currently working on new hospital drama "Three Rivers," works with numerous medical manufacturers to request products for their sets.
The set of "Three Rivers" includes an operating room, an emergency room, an intensive-care unit and a treatment room. Cole must find the props to outfit the show's two stages.
Occasionally, a script will call for a specific product, like a tracheotomy tube, and she must find an appropriate product and company.
"On this specific show, there's things I've never placed before," she said. "I have to make cold calls to marketing departments to start the relationship."
That's what happened with Analogic.
Peters said she was skeptical about that first request and called the local police department where Analogic's machine was being sent to be sure it was legitimate.
Once the relationship was established, Analogic became a regular on television.
Namaroff said the company has had to turn down requests. The cost of their devices can range from $2,000 to $25,000, and Analogic can't always spare an extra for television.
"We look at what we have available in engineering or in the stock department or on the order rate to ship actual customers," he said.
Cole said most of her vendors are happy with their products' appearance on television. She provides still photos of the device on set on the off chance it never makes the cut.
Lending equipment for the medical-based shows saves television studios millions of dollars a year, she said.
She cautions that unless a product is specifically named in a script, a company shouldn't expect a device to be seen by viewers.
Cole also said that those working on a show try to be true to a device's operation, but, as Hollywood must, it takes liberties. The constraints of an hourlong show often mean compressing what would ordinarily take a day into mere seconds, she said.
"Sometimes because it's television we have to cheat things," she said.
Cole suggested calling a television studio if a manufacturer has a product it believes is appropriate for a show. The information will be sent to a production head who will eventually get the details to a person like Cole.
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