ROCHESTER, Sept. 26 -- Eastman Kodak Co. has announced its purchase of advanced digital medical imaging technology that aids in the early detection of disease, as part of a new growth strategy presented to investors at a meeting in New York yesterday.
The computer-aided detection (CAD) technology, which Kodak acquired from MiraMedica Inc., of Los Gatos, Calif., includes software that automatically highlights suspicious areas on patients' digital medical images or digitized film images, signaling radiologists to closely examine these areas for possible disease. MiraMedica's CAD technology is built on a platform exclusively licensed from Lockheed Martin Space Systems and the University of South Florida.
Kodak acquired the technology for an undisclosed sum. It said a number of MiraMedica employees will join Kodak's Health Imaging Group. Wido Menhardt, MiraMedica's CTO, will become general manager of CAD operations, and Caren Mason, president and CEO of MiraMedica, will serve as a business consultant during the transition.
Kodak told investors its new strategy "will harness the power of digital technology to expand into a range of commercial businesses, resulting in a more diversified business portfolio with the potential to generate $16 billion in revenue by 2006 and $20 billion by 2010." The company said it expects to spend as much as $3 billion on investments and acquisitions to achieve its 2006 revenue goal and that it will center its growth efforts on the commercial, consumer and health markets.
The commercial initiatives include developing imaging services for business customers, such as on-demand digital color printing. Kodak has appointed James Langley, a former Hewlett-Packard executive, as president for commercial printing.
Kodak said the CAD technology will add a new dimension to its portfolio of digital medical imaging products and will expand its capabilities in "image intelligence," a key element in the company's strategy for the medical imaging field. Kodak said it will announce product commercialization plans resulting from the acquisition in the coming months. It will offer CAD software as a stand-alone product and as a component of its digital capture and image-and-information management systems.
For more information, visit: www.kodak.com