Installed base looms large for PACS firms
February 1st 1999Installed 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
Agfa plans acquisition of Sterling but passes on DirectRay, Helios units
February 1st 1999Agfa 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
Agfa’s acquisition of Sterling will create film powerhouse to rival Eastman Kodak
January 20th 1999Fate 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
MRI vendors pursue real-time imaging with interactive scanning protocols
January 20th 1999New 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
Multimodality OEMs eye digital x-ray as Philips and Picker gain FDA nods
January 20th 1999Siemens is on deck for its table and chest systemsAs expected, the market for flat-panel digital x-ray systems is getting crowded, with multimodality OEMs jostling to claim their share of the pie. The two most recent OEMs to join the fray are
ADAC paints picture of strong growth at Hambrecht & Quist investor meeting
January 20th 1999Company 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 presents new E.Cam cardiac unit
January 13th 1999Siemens 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
Vital Images shows new Vitrea version
January 13th 1999Three-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
Agfa lands another DIN-PACS award
January 13th 1999The 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.
Medasys and Citation cancel merger after markets yawn at transaction
January 13th 1999Firms 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
FDA clears Toshiba's coincidence option
January 13th 1999The 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
Film and PACS consolidation takes another turn as Agfa bids to acquire Sterling Diagnostic Imaging
January 11th 1999The 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
Ultrasound innovation cools in the shadow of consolidation
January 7th 1999After 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