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NEWS RELEASE:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
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Beth Frost-Johnson, Sr. VP of Marketing
Merge Healthcare
414.977.4254
bethfj@merge.com
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MERGE HEALTHCARE UNVEILS VERSION 7.0 OF THE
MERGE MAMMO™ DIAGNOSTIC MAMMOGRAPHY SOLUTION
Newest features in multi-modality, vendor-neutral workstation enhance efficiency, improve clinical reading capabilities and ease transition to digital mammography
Milwaukee , WI , March 6, 2007 –Merge Healthcare, (NASDAQ: MRGE; TSX: MRG), a leading medical imaging software and services provider, today announced the release of Merge Mammo™ version 7.0. As one of the industry’s first multi-modality, vendor-neutral digital mammography workstation applications, this system enables organizations to display and read images from different systems simultaneously (digital mammography, ultrasound, MR, CR, etc.), and to read all breast studies on a single workstation, regardless of which vendor’s acquisition device is used to secure the images.
Version 7.0 offers several new features including:
Enhanced full-resolution viewing – In full resolution, a digital breast image is larger than a computer screen. Thus, radiologists must pan across the image to view the image in its entirety. The process takes time and increases risk of the radiologist missing a portion of the read. Merge Mammo’s new functionality provides a fluid, step-through method enabling the radiologist to move from section to section in full resolution to ensure complete review of the entire image.
Optimized screen "real estate" -- Traditionally with mammography, a radiologist sees more than the breast. Blackened, background areas (often scans of the imaging unit itself) consume a portion of the viewing area. Viewing can be optimized by reducing background and isolating the breast. Merge Mammo now incorporates new algorithm-driven isolation of the breast image. By automatically fitting the breast image into the display, radiologists immediately see the image at maximum size, and avoid the time and distraction of moving and manipulating images.
Enhanced inverted imaging – Some radiologists use an inversion technique when reading images, converting black to white and white to black. Merge Mammo 7.0 offers a new feature that enables conversion of white (the breast image) to black, while maintaining background (non breast image) as black. This enhances the radiologist’s ability to isolate potential problem areas more effectively when inverting images.
Additionally, Merge Mammo 7.0 gains functionality from the new On Demand interface with the Fusion Matrix PACS Archive. This option allows for enhanced workflow capabilities including retrieval of prior studies and a centralized reading worklist.
"We have benefited from a close relationship with the Merge Healthcare development team over the last three years,” says Ramin Abrahim, MD, a radiologist with Washington Radiology Associates (WRA) which has six outpatient imaging facilities in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. "The result has been a feature-rich, efficient, almost self-maintaining product that has made our clinical work much easier. Once we converted to digital mammography, our experience-based input and corporate collaboration has continued to make Merge Mammo a top-notch, vendor-neutral, standalone solution."
Merge Mammo is designed to streamline breast imaging workflow and enhance clinical reading capabilities. It offers easily customized workflow tools to support radiologist-specific viewing preferences. Facilities are using Merge Mammo to create environments that equal or exceed hard copy (film) review speed.
"Recently published DMIST results have inspired many organizations to adopt digital mammography, and mammography was one of the hottest topics at this year’s RSNA", says Kenneth Rardin, CEO of Merge Healthcare. "Yet organizations face obstacles in moving to digital, including high costs of acquisition devices, difficulty in blending mammography systems during merger or acquisition, inefficiencies of using multiple workstations, and challenges in optimizing collaboration across multiple facilities. We created Merge Mammo to ensure relevance to the true needs of imaging professionals, and will continue working with customers to create new features that improve clinical outcomes, optimize productivity and allow organizations to grow with this solution."
Merge Healthcare recently announced that increasing numbers of organizations are adopting its Merge Mammo solution.
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Merge Healthcare is a market leader in the development and delivery of medical imaging and information management software and services. Our innovative software solutions use leading-edge imaging software technologies that accelerate market delivery for our OEM customers, while our end-user solutions improve our customers' productivity and enhance the quality of patient care they provide. For additional information, visit our website at www.mergehealthcare.com .
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Attn: Beth Frost-Johnson
Merge Healthcare
6737 West Washington St.
Suite 2250
Milwaukee, WI 53214
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| Except for the historical information herein, the matters discussed in this news release include forward-looking statements that may involve a number of risks and uncertainties. When used in this press release, the words “will,” “believes,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “expects” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the forward-looking statements based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the uncertainty created by, the adverse impact on relationships with customers, potential customers, suppliers and investors potentially resulting from, and other risks associated with, the changes in the Company’s senior management; costs, risks and effects of the investigation by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors; the impact of the restatement of financial statements of the Company and other actions that may be taken or required as a result of such restatement; the Company's inability to timely file reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission; risks associated with the Company's inability to meet the requirements of The NASDAQ Stock Market for continued listing, including possible delisting; costs, risks and effects of legal proceedings and investigations, including the informal, non-public inquiry being conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission and class action, derivative, and other lawsuits; risks in product and technology development, market acceptance of new products and continuing product demand, the impact of competitive products and pricing, ability to integrate acquisitions, changing economic conditions, credit and payment risks associated with end-user sales, dependence on major customers, dependence on key personnel, and other risk factors detailed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as expressly required by the federal securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update such factors or to publicly announce the results of any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future events, developments, or changed circumstances, or for any other reason.
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