Kodak and ATL finish integration work

The alliance between Eastman Kodak of Rochester, NY, and ATL ofBothell, WA, is finally ready to bear fruit. The firms next monthwill begin shipping the first components that allow their respectiveimage management systems to be connected to each other.

Kodak and ATL announced in 1994 that they would collaborateto integrate ATL's Access ultrasound image management system withKodak's Digital Science PACS line (SCAN 2/1/95). Commerciallyavailable connections between the systems have been on hold, however,until Kodak completed work on the DICOM versions of its DigitalScience medical printer interface unit and Digital Science modalityacquisition unit, which acquire ultrasound images.

The units will begin shipping next month and will allow usersto send and retrieve color or gray-scale images between a KodakPACS and an Access workstation. Components for the integratedKodak/ATL system are available from either company.

In other news, Kodak has set a release date in the fourth quarterof this year for a new Digital Science workstation for digitalarchiving and off-line review of cardiac cath lab studies. Theworkstation uses CD-R (compact disk-recordable) media as an alternativefor cine film. The system, which consists of a CAS 6000 archivestation and a CRS 2000 review station, received 510(k) clearanceearlier this year.