Merge bids $22M for Confirma

Merge bids $22M for Confirma
Merge Healthcare is making a $22 million bid for privately held Confirma, a developer of computer-aided detection software for the analysis of breast and prostate MR studies. If the all-stock deal goes through, as expected in September, 5.6 million shares of Merge will trade hands at an estimated value of $3.897 per share, giving Confirma investors an 8.5% stake in Merge. Short-term synergies cited by Merge when the company announced the proposed deal include leveraging international and OEM distribution channels to increase the customer base beyond the 1200 Confirma software packages currently installed.  Merge would also seek to integrate Confirma and Merge breast imaging solutions. In the midterm, CAD-based technologies from Confirma may be used in clinical trials, a market segment that will open up with last month’s acquisition of etrials Worldwide. Over the long term, Merge wants to expand the use of CAD to improve efficiency in medical practice, namely in established markets where imaging costs are coming under fire.

Fuji lands multiple XR deal
FujiFilm Medical Systems USA has installed five FCR Go digital portable x-ray systems at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, FL.  The system uses computed radiography plates and an onboard reader to perform radiography throughout the hospital, which provides a 24-hour emergency department, the largest in the state of Florida, and East Central Florida’s first and only pediatric intensive care unit. Halifax is the area's only Level II Trauma Center.