Kodak acquires CAD technology

As part of an increasingly aggressive strategy to focus on digital imaging, Eastman Kodak has acquired software firm MiraMedica and its computer-aided detection technology. The price paid for the privately held Los Gatos, CA, company was not disclosed. Kodak is picking up several key employees as part of the deal. MiraMedica's chief technology officer, Wido Menhardt, will become general manager of CAD operations. Company president and CEO Caren Mason will serve as a business consultant during the transition of CAD operations to Kodak. The CAD software, which was the target of the acquisition, automatically highlights suspicious areas on images either acquired digitally or digitized from film. It will be sold as a stand-alone product and as a component of Kodak digital capture and image and information management systems. The CAD technology is built on a platform licensed exclusively from Lockheed Martin Space Systems and the University of South Florida.