Algotec gains FDA nod for MediSurf Web product

Algotec gains FDA nod for MediSurf Web product

Algotec of Raanana, Israel, has received Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance for its MediSurf software, a Java-based product for distributing medical images and clinical data over the Internet and intranets. Shipments have already begun via a worldwide OEM relationship with Elscint.

MediSurf customers employ a Java applet and a standard World Wide Web browser to access the MediSurf DICOM 3.0-compliant server, which is linked to both clinical image and data sources. There is no need for installation of additional hardware or software at end-user sites, according to the company.

Algotec debuted MediSurf at last year's Radiological Society of North America meeting. In addition to three beta sites in the U.S., Canada, and Germany, MediSurf has been installed at nine other institutions. Two MediSurf packages have been installed in the U.S.

Initially, Algotec will market MediSurf in the U.S. through OEMs. In a few months, however, the firm will sell MediSurf in the U.S. via regional distributors as well as through direct sales in some cases, said Kobi Margolin, Algotec marketing manager. Because the company expects OEMs to contribute most of MediSurf's sales, Algotec is actively looking for additional OEM relationships, Margolin said.

MediSurf could be the connectivity product that Elscint executives said their company would be releasing some time this year (PNN 7/97). Algotec executives declined to state whether MediSurf is that product, however, and Elscint executives were not available for comment.