A Medical Device Daily

NightHawk Radiology Holdings (Coeur D'Alene, Idaho), the provider of radiology solutions to medical groups and hospitals throughout the U. S., reported acquiring The Radlinx Group (Irving, Texas), billing Radlinx as the third largest provider of teleradiology services in the country with doctors located solely in the U.S.

NightHawk paid $53 million for The Radlinx Group and said it expects the transaction to add 5 cents to adjusted EPS in 2007.

NightHawk said that the acquisition of Radlinx and its 303 hospitals expands its customer base to more than 1,300 hospitals, representing 24% of all U.S. hospitals and expands NightHawk's presence in key areas of the United States, including Texas, the second largest market in the U.S.

Dr. Paul Berger, NightHawk CEO and chairman of NightHawk, said that the purchase "significantly expands our core off-hours business, strengthens our partnerships with radiology groups to help grow our final interpretation and sub-specialty business and extends our capability of providing radiology solutions and improving patient care with such a strong presence of doctors located domestically."

NightHawk noted that it purchased Teleradiology Diagnostic Service (Arcadia, California) in February(Medical Device Daily, Feb. 13, 2007), and, with that, the buy of Radlinx expands its position as a leader in providing radiology solutions across the U.S.

"The strategic acquisition of The Radlinx Group, with their doctors located across the U.S., should help alleviate concerns the industry may have about Medicare interpretations being performed outside the U.S.," said Tim Mayleben, NightHawk's executive VP and COO. "While we continue to capitalize on the efficiencies of our centralized approach to interpreting radiological procedures, we are also able to utilize our proprietary workflow to seamlessly distribute images to our U.S.-based doctors."

Greg Lowenstein, CEO of Radlinx, said, "We are especially excited to introduce NightHawk's broad range of services and solutions to our customers, including 3D reconstructions and CCTA interpretations, sub-specialty reads, and its advanced workflow solution, Talon, which will bring greater efficiencies to our doctors, our radiology group customers, and their patients."

NightHawk said Radlinx is expected to contribute $17 million to $19 million in revenue for the remainder of 2007. The transaction is expected to add about 2 cents EPS in 2007, it said.

Senior secured debt financing was arranged by Morgan Stanley Senior Funding.

NightHawk says it is the nation's leading provider of professional radiology solutions and "leading the transformation of the professional practice of radiology by providing high-quality, cost-effective radiology services to radiology groups and hospitals throughout the United States."

NightHawk services medical groups 24/7 at more than 1,300 hospitals in the U.S. from facilities in the U.S., Australia and Switzerland.

Inbone Technologies (Berkeley, California), formerly Topez Orthopedics, maker of the Inbone Total Ankle System, reported completing a merger with Reiley Orthopedic (Boulder, Colorado), maker of an intra-medullary fusion system. Financial terms were not disclosed.

In a statement, Inbone said that the merger of extremity orthopedics companies "creates a comprehensive surgical product line for the treatment of severe foot and ankle arthritis."

Jeffrey Dunn, president/CEO of Inbone, said, "The under-served lower extremity market is ripe for new technologies, and both these product lines are being called game-changing and revolutionary. Leading surgeons across the country are quickly adopting these products to deliver better results for their patients, and with our combined forces, we anticipate a fantastic 2007 for Inbone Technologies."

Inbone said that its Total Ankle product "is poised to become the only long-term reliable solution on the market, and dozens of surgeons have begun to implant this long-awaited product. This high-performance modular prosthesis is installed via a mechanized intra-medullary alignment system, resulting in precise, reproducible installation and longer projected implant life."

It added that the fusion system developed by Reiley "is positioned to subsume the enormous foot and ankle fusion market which in the past was dominated by screws and plates."

The system features intra-medullary rods and plates to fuse from within. Made from titanium with a porous plasma spray coating, the fusion implants utilize bony in-growth technology to create a stronger construct than traditional steel screw and plate systems.

Inbone reports that more than 150 fusion implants have been installed, and the results "are showing faster fusion times and lower infection rates without the nerve damage that can occur with external screws and plates."

Mark Reiley, MD, chief medical officer of Inbone, said, said, "We are excited to have these companies together and are optimistic that the shareholders will benefit greatly from this combination."

The newly merged company will be headquartered Berkeley, with engineering and manufacturing operations located in Boulder.

Inbone describes its goal as providing orthopedic solutions for patients with arthritis and chronic pain to help restore mobility and improve the quality of life.

In other deal activity: AIPC — The Hospitalist Company (North Hollywood, California) reported expansion into Georgia with the acquisition of Magna Care Hospitalists (Macon). The Magna Care practice includes seven physicians and one nurse practitioner, providing hospitalist services to four medical facilities in the Macon area. Terms were not disclosed.

IPC bills itself as the largest provider of hospitalist medicine in the U.S.