PACS and teleradiology industry veteran Don Alvarez has been named vice president of worldwide sales and marketing at 3-D software developer Voxar. Alvarez will be responsible for all OEM and end-user sales and marketing activities for the Edinburgh,

Ultrasound developer Acuson of Mountain View, CA, this month reported healthy financial numbers for its fourth-quarter and year-end periods (end-December). The results bolstered Acuson's financial picture, but didn't do much to lift the vendor's stock

Toshiba America Medical Systems has named Frederick Wagner head of its Connectivity Systems Group. A Toshiba employee since 1990, Wagner replaces Andrew MacLean, who had been serving as acting head of the group following the departure of Leslie Ferrini

Mobile PET Systems of San Diego bought five mobile coaches this month from Calumet Coach of Calumet City, IL. The coaches will accommodate Siemens PET cameras and will provide PET technology to hospitals with insufficient patient volumes to justify the

Medical imaging and PACS monitor manufacturer Barco Display Systems of Kortrijk, Belgium, has agreed to acquire graphics board supplier Metheus of Beaverton, OR. Terms were not released. Metheus has been providing Barco with customized medical imaging

SonoSite of Bothell, WA, last month received $12 million from former parent company ATL Ultrasound, also of Bothell. The payment terminates ATL's financial obligations to SonoSite under the conditions of the 1998 agreement that established SonoSite as an

A big jump in sales for the year didn't help digital x-ray developer Swissray International, which posted a large net loss for its 1998 fiscal year (end-June). The New York City-based company indicated that it sustained a net loss of $22.5 million for

Siemens AG's Medical Engineering Group led all other Siemens business units in revenue growth for the first quarter (end-December), the German industrial conglomerate reported last month. Medical Engineering also recorded strong growth in earnings and

London newspaper says Picker’s parent may be eyeing either companyThe chairman of Picker International parent General Electric Company stirred up a hornet's nest last month when he commented to a London newspaper that GEC could be eyeing the

Philips Medical Systems North America of Shelton, CT, plans to restructure its field sales organization, the company announced last month. The firm will create four operating units that will be located in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta. The

ADAC builds on RIS experience to enter PACS market with EnvoiEnvoi evolves from QuadRIS to provide low-cost PACSADAC Laboratories is seeking to break out of its niche in radiology information systems and explore wider pastures in the PACS

Siemens and StorageTek agree to market each other's productsFirms plan joint sales calls in sophisticated archiving situationsArchiving has long been considered one of the trickier aspects of PACS installations. PACS firms that seek to

RSNA, HIMSS move forward with IHE projectRelease of technical document planned for HIMSS meetingThe seamless integration of PACS networks into other healthcare information systems has for some time been a goal of healthcare institutions.

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