ISG enjoys profitable quarter, FDA nod

August brought a doubledose of good news to image processing software developer ISG Technologies.The company reported its first profitable quarter in three years,then followed that announcement with news that the Food and DrugAdministration granted 510(k) clearance to its line of image viewingworkstations.

The Canadian firm's financial comeback can be attributed toa new business plan that saw the firm expand from developing dedicated3-D workstations to pursuing OEM agreements for its software andviewing workstations (SCAN 12/15/93).

ISG recorded revenues for the fourth quarter (end-June) of$6.6 million, up 35% from $4.8 million in the same quarter a yearago. Income was $148,000 compared to a loss of $644,000 for thefourth quarter of 1993.

For the year, ISG had revenue of $20 million, a 9% increaseover the $18.4 million recorded in 1993. The company's loss for1994 was $2.1 million, compared to a loss of $1.7 million lastyear.

ISG, of Mississauga, Ontario, has lined up a number of OEMlicensing deals for its imaging applications platform (IAP) softwarefor developing custom applications. ISG also received Food andDrug Administration clearance in April for its Viewing Wand systemfor intraoperative image guidance (SCAN 5/4/94).

ISG had been waiting for word from the FDA on the third legof its product triangle, Family of Workstations (FoW). The companygot the FDA's nod this month.

FoW consists of four workstations:

** Silhouette, a second-console workstation for filming, archiving,image review and postprocessing;

** Digital Reading Station, a radiologist reading-room workstation;

** Digital Alternator, a physician viewing station; and

** Physicians Review Station, a workstation for remote imageviewing, both inside and outside the hospital.

ISG has been in discussions with Du Pont concerning an OEMarrangement between the firms (SCAN 4/20/94). In a letter to stockholders,ISG said it was involved in negotiations with several large radiologyfilm companies, and expected to make an announcement about thenegotiations shortly.