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Fonix secures six new PowerScribe contractsDictation software developer Fonix of Salt Lake City last month signed contracts with six U.S. hospitals for its PowerScribe Radiology speech recognition/dictation system. Fonix licensed the system to

Olicon closes sale of TAP programPACS vendor Olicon Imaging Systems of Aliso Viejo, CA, has divested its teleradiology archiving program (TAP) and microfilm division to F.Y.I., a document and information outsourcing solutions company. Terms of

Installed base looms large for PACS firmsAgfa's planned acquisition of most of Sterling Diagnostic Imaging's assets and Eastman Kodak's 1998 acquisition of Imation's medical imaging business revealed several important truths about the medical

Data General, MarkCare join forces with WorldCareFirms to offer integrated PACS/telemedicine systemsThe integration of telemedicine capabilities into PACS networks has attracted some interest in the marketplace. To date, however, few

Agfa plans acquisition of Sterling but passes on DirectRay, Helios unitsDeal would create a film powerhouse to rival Eastman KodakBigger is better. That was undoubtedly the mantra of many film and PACS vendors in 1998 and continuing into

Ross named CEO at CT firm ImatronIt didn't take long for Terry Ross, former president and CEO of PACS firm Cemax-Icon, to find a new job. Ross, who left the Fremont, CA-based firm following the close of its acquisition by Eastman Kodak in

Fate of DirectRay remains in question as Agfa turns down technologyThe need for film and PACS companies to consolidate was again evident earlier this month in the announcement by Agfa that it would acquire most of the assets of digital radiography

New techniques could spur interventional usesControl has taken its place alongside speed as a major driver of new MR technologies. This control is taking the form of interactivity: the ability to control data acquisition moment to moment, which is

It didn’t take long for Terry Ross, former president and CEO of PACS firm Cemax-Icon, to find a new job. Ross, who left the Fremont, CA-based firm following the close of its acquisition by Eastman Kodak in December (SCAN 12/16/98), has been

Most companies aim products at cost-effectivenessA California company that sees the PET market as a promising opportunity for shared imaging services is gearing up for business. Mobile PET Systems of San Diego is taking delivery on two PET cameras

Company moves forward despite shareholder suitsADAC Laboratories highlighted new ventures in radiation therapy planning, nuclear medicine, and image and information management as promising areas for growth at a presentation at this month’s

Siemens Medical Systems' nuclear medicine group of Hoffman Estates, IL, rolled into the Radiological Society of North America meeting last month with a new offering in its E.Cam line. The company introduced E.Cam Cardiac Imaging System for dedicated

Three-dimensional visualization developer Vital Images is keeping up with advances in multislice CT technology by optimizing its Vitrea workstation to handle data from the new scanners. The Minneapolis company rolled out the new version of Vitrea at last

The consortium led by Agfa of Ridgefield Park, NJ, has received a large-scale PACS award from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, under the military's Digital Imaging Network-Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (DIN-PACS) project.

Siemens Medical Systems has formalized Ajit Singh's position as vice president of its Siemens Health Services division. Singh had been serving as interim vice president of the group since Reinhard Schmidt left the Iselin, NJ-based company to serve as

Firms will likely sell each other's products, howeverA corporate merger that many PACS market watchers had thought was a done deal fell apart last month when healthcare information technology firms Medasys Digital Systems and Citation Computer

PACS vendor Olicon Imaging Systems of Aliso Viejo, CA, has divested its teleradiology archiving program (TAP) and microfilm division to F.Y.I., a document and information outsourcing solutions company. Terms of the deal were not immediately released.

The Food and Drug Administration cleared Toshiba America Medical Systems' coincidence detection imaging software for its Toshiba E. Cam last month, according to Lin Sinclair, product manager for the company's nuclear medicine division. Toshiba's E.Cams

The medical imaging industry’s active pace of consolidation in 1998 has continued into 1999. With the new year less than two weeks old, film and PACS company Agfa of Ridgefield Park, NJ, has made a bid to acquire rival Sterling Diagnostic Imaging of

After several years of heated R&D advances, technology development in ultrasound is finally beginning to cool. Exhibitors toyed with the next great leap forward—real-time 3-D imaging—but none could manage it. Major and minor players showed

The arrival of new digital x-ray technology was evident at the December RSNA meeting as many vendors displayed digital radiography systems as commercial products for the first time. Established multimodality vendors showcased digital detectors as part of

This year’s RSNA meeting capped a banner year for CT technology development. The introduction of new multislice CT scanners has revitalized the modality in a way not seen since the introduction of spiral scanning in 1989. With subsecond scanning and

Manufacturers unveiled a dizzying array of technologies designed to extend the clinical reach of MR, as they prepare for a clinical future where flexibility and productivity may determine success or failure. Most advances were being prepped for

Nuclear medicine vendors rolled into the RSNA show confident in the strength of the technology advances in their exhibits and the health of the overall market. The U.S. nuclear medicine market exhibited robust growth in 1998, with vendors predicting that

Digital x-ray, multislice CT, and PACS highlight new technology developmentsA robust medical imaging market didn’t slow the growing trend toward consolidation among companies exhibiting at December’s Radiological Society of North America

PACS exhibits were among the most heavily attended at the 1998 meeting, as digital image and information management technology again generated much interest among attendees. Vendors at the RSNA show tended to highlight the work-flow capabilities of their

Despite continued disappointment at the Food and Drug Administration’s reluctance to clear full-field digital mammography systems, vendors at the RSNA conference were optimistic about the development of digital and other emerging technologies. In

Small PACS firms continue innovationLarger PACS vendors may have dominated the exhibit floor at this year's Radiological Society of North America meeting, but by no means did they hold a monopoly on innovative technology. Despite difficult market