Dome's focus on graphics components benefits firm as monitor market takes off
Company to add some image capture and archiving softwareDome Imaging Systems is a perfect example of how a component provider can thrive in the PACS marketplace. One of the first true PACS component developers, Dome has carved out a niche for itself in a market where small companies with staying power are anomalies.
Dome designs and manufactures graphic cards for display monitors in medical imaging environments. It also provides its OEM customers with software toolkits for such applications as image processing, display, access, and distribution. With more than 120 clients in its stable, Dome has forged an enviable market position.
Waltham, MA-based Dome wasn't always a mainstay in the PACS sector. Dome was founded in 1987 by four employees of Number Nine Computer, a graphics board vendor for the PC-based computer-aided design (CAD) marketplace. The four founders, all still executives at Dome, attended the Radiological Society of North America meeting in 1987 and determined that OEM vendors in the fledgling PACS market needed high-quality graphics boards to power their workstations.
The group launched Dome with the intention of providing both hardware and software components to PACS and medical imaging vendors, a mission that remains the same for the firm today. Working out of an office above a restaurant, the company developed its first display board in 1989, which provided 12-bit image display. The company also developed a software toolkit that enabled its customers to write DOS-based software.
From there, Dome developed a board for Macintosh-based workstations and landed its first large OEM customer, Vortech Data, at the 1991 RSNA meeting. Vortech was later acquired by Eastman Kodak in 1993.
Dome followed up its first OEM deal with a partnership with Siemens Medical Systems and Loral. A 4-megapixel display board was developed for the two firms in 1992, which was deployed as part of the military's Medical Diagnostic Imaging Support (MDIS) project. A 1280 x 1024 board for PCs was soon developed, followed by a 1600 x 1200 Macintosh-based card. The company's first 2K x 2.5K board was developed for Kodak in 1993.
The PACS industry in 1994 began a shift away from Macintosh and DOS-based offerings towards workstations powered by Sun Microsystems workstations, which led Dome to develop an Sbus product. Its 4-megapixel Sbus display was followed by 2-megapixel and 5-megapixel versions in 1995. The 5-megapixel display card was the first development with the company's own custom Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC).
