• CDW Healthcare (Vernon Hills, Illinois), a provider of technology products and services for healthcare, reported signing an agreement with Barco (Kortrijk, Belgium) to build and distribute integrated medical imaging solutions based upon Barco medical displays, Barco advanced visualization software solutions and workstations from HP and IBM. The companies said this product package provides advanced visualization and analysis of CT, MRI and PET images and will be available for the first time to a Barco distribution partner through CDW Healthcare. The integrated package bundles Barco’s Coronis and Nio lines of diagnostic imaging displays, Barco’s visualization software for 3-D viewing of CT, MR and PET images and workstations from HP and IBM. Barco’s visualization software enables diagnosticians to manipulate medical images — such as a cranial CT scan — along its X, Y and Z axis, providing a full 3D view of the subject. Healthcare IT staff can customize the workstation configuration to the specific use and specifications that they require, the companies said.

• Greatbatch (Clarence, New York) and St. Jude Medical (St. Paul, Minnesota) reported entering into an amended supplier partnering agreement, extending the current agreement between them through 2013 and establishing Greatbatch as the exclusive supplier of battery technology and the supplier of filtered feed-through technology to St. Jude. The amendment provides for year-over-year price reductions on both technologies through collaboration on manufacturing and supply chain efficiencies. The parties have also agreed to jointly develop new technologies, including the introduction of a low-cost power solution to support future market requirements with an implementation date of no later than 2009. St. Jude has five major focus areas: cardiac rhythm management, atrial fibrillation, cardiac surgery, cardiology and neuromodulation.

• Hitachi Data Systems (Santa Clara, California), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi (Tokyo, Japan), has been selected by Fujifilm Medical Systems USA (Stamford, Connecticut) a provider of diagnostic imaging products and network systems for radiology, to provide advanced storage solutions for Fujifilm’s Synapse picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) customers. Jim Morgan, Fujifilm’s national marketing manager for network systemsm said, “With a reputation for delivering a stream of innovative products to meet any daunting data storage requirements, Hitachi Data Systems is an ideal partner for Fujifilm and will enable us to ensure that critical patient data is secure yet accessible.”

• National Digital Medical Archive (NDMA; Berwyn, Pennsylvania) and Apollo PACS (Falls Church, Virginia) reported a collaboration on product integration initiatives that support the “seamless” delivery of pathology imaging across diverse enterprises. The initiatives will incorporate pathology images and related report information to an electronic patient record that can be accessed remotely. Apollo PACS and NDMA will combine their products and systems to create a family of solutions designed to enable facilities to better manage, archive, share, process and view pathology images. The National Digital Medical Archive develops a data management and communications infrastructure that is designed to enable on-demand access, visualization and distribution of diagnostic quality images and related clinical data. Apollo PACS is a private company, incorporated in Delaware, that provides pathology PACS solutions designed to enable end-to-end laboratory image process solutions to manage diagnostic case workflow.

• Royal Philips Electronics (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) and Volcano (Rancho Cordova, California), a developer of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) systems and imaging catheters, reported compatibility between the Philips Allura Xper FD systems and the Volcano s5i suite of integrated IVUS systems. This compatibility allows clinicians to easily connect the Volcano IVUS system with the Allura Xper FD when additional imaging is required to complement cardiovascular X-ray during cath lab procedures, the companies said. Philips said it has acknowledged Volcano as a non-exclusive vendor of choice for new cath lab installations which specify integrated IVUS capabilities. Volcano develops devices designed to facilitate endovascular procedures, enhance the diagnosis of vascular and structural heart diseases and guide optimal therapies. Philips develops medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring systems, energy efficient lighting solutions, personal care and home appliances, as well as consumer electronics.

• Yulex (Carlsbad, California) reported signing an exclusive, royalty-based agreement with TechDevice (Watertown, Massachusetts), a manufacturer of balloon catheters and guidewires for a variety of endoscopy, urology and vascular applications. The agreement allows TechDevice to make balloon-catheter-based products using Yulex latex made from guayule latex. Yulex describes its latex as the world’s only bio-based, commercial source of latex safe for people with Type I latex allergy. TechDevice said it will use Yulex latex to make balloon catheters used for stone retrieval, vessel occlusion and thermodilution indications.