Kodak Showcases Latest Medical Imaging Technology

New Delhi: Kodak India Limited revealed its latest product portfolio for the medical imaging world at the ongoing 57th Annual Indian Radiology Congress in the city, including its medical laser printers with the revolutionary dry laser technology for multiple size printing for mid-volume applications, and the world's only 100 mega-pixel dry medical imager with 650 dpi resolution.

Also on show was a sneak preview of the soon-to-be-launched table-top Kodak DirectView CR500 System.

Kodak's Health Imaging Group is a world leader in developing, manufacturing and marketing intelligent medical imaging products from digital to analog. Its broad product portfolio includes computed radiography (CR) and digital radiography (DR) systems, laser imagers, picture archiving and communications systems (PACS), radiology information systems, traditional mammography and x-ray film systems, dental imaging and various services offerings.

Kodak's role in health imaging virtually parallels the discovery and application of x-ray technology in medicine. Kodak introduced the first product expressly designed for capturing x-ray images in 1896, within a year of the discovery of x-rays by Wilhelm Roentgen. From this beginning, and as a result of more than a century of imaging innovation and continuous new product development, today Kodak is a leading player in the global medical imaging products market.

Kodak has aggressively pursued innovation and technology leadership in the medical imaging field, which it has further consolidated through a series of strategic acquisitions. Within the last one year, Kodak India's global parent Eastman Kodak Company has acquired several niche companies, amongst which are Algotec Systems, a leading developer of advanced picture-archiving-and-communications systems (PACS) which improved Kodak's competitive position in the growing market for PACS, which enable radiology departments worldwide to digitally manage and store medical images and information. Another recent acquisition has been the Atlanta-based PracticeWorks, Inc., a leading provider of dental practice management software (DPMS) and digital radiographic imaging systems, and PracticeWorks' French subsidiary Trophy Radiologie, S.A., a developer and manufacturer of dental digital radiography equipment. The deal is expected to add approximately $215 million to Kodak's revenue in the first full year. Further consolidating its leadership of digital technology that aids early detection of diseases and the management of images, Kodak purchased advanced digital medical imaging technology from MiraMedica, Inc., Los Gatos, CA, that includes software that automatically highlights suspicious areas on patients' digital medical images or digitized film images. MiraMedica is one of the medical imaging industry's innovators of CAD technology. At the Radiology Congress, Kodak has developed its products showcase around the theme "Simplify your life with Kodak".

According to Dr. Mohan Nadkarni, vice president and country head of Kodak's Health Imaging Division, "Our products are designed to make life easier for the radiology community. Our Capture, Print, PACS, and RIS solutions increase efficiency. Integration and backup by our world-class professional services group bring total peace of mind. The radiologist gets to concentrate on patients, not problems." Dr Nadkarni emphasized that Kodak has evolved technologies that provide the support the radiologist needs in the digital world of tomorrow, with paths forward that protect the radiologists investments today.

Sharing some of his plans for the year, Dr Nadkarni informed that in 2004, Kodak will again introduce a range of image-centric products that will illustrate the company's support for the medical imaging industry's migration to a digital environment. Health care facilities around the world can count on Kodak to offer leading edge analog and digital imaging solutions, and consulting services that maximize product performance, staff productivity and workflow efficiencies.