Camtronics Medical Systems (Hartland, Wisconsin), a subsidiary of Analogic (Peabody, Massachusetts), said that it has purchased VMI Medical (Ottawa, Ontario). Terms of the deal were not disclosed. VMI is an information software company specializing in clinical database, workflow automation and business improvement solutions for children's heart centers. Its products support the detection, evaluation, treatment and ongoing assessment of congenital and acquired heart disease in fetal, neonatal, pediatric and adolescent care settings. VMI Medical is now a subsidiary of Camtronics and will remain based in Ottawa. Camtronics is focused on developing cardiovascular image and information technology.

CardioTech International (Woburn, Massachusetts) said it expects the acquisition of Gish Biomedical (Rancho Santa Margarita, California) to be accretive to earnings within the first year and to dramatically increase revenues. "This acquisition is a perfect fit for us," said Dr. Michael Szycher, chairman of CardioTech. "We are making an investment of $7.3 million in stock to acquire Gish. This investment equals net tangible assets, which includes equipment, inventory and finished products." Szycher said Gish had revenues of $16 million in 2001, "and I expect them to be cash flow-positive in the next few quarters." Gish currently sells products used in open heart surgery to more than 300 hospitals worldwide. With the acquisition, CardioTech said it would be able to use the Gish clean room facilities for manufacturing its artificial arteries.

MedicalCV (Minneapolis, Minnesota) said it acquired exclusive licensing rights to manufacture and sell a new annuloplasty surgical repair system, the Northrup Universal Heart Valve Repair System, from Segmed (also Minneapolis), a private firm. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Annuloplasty is the surgical repair of the heart's mitral and tricuspid valves, offering a worldwide market opportunity of $50 million annually, growing at 20% per year, MedicalCV said. Blair Mowery, president and CEO of MedicalCV, said, "With the Northrup Repair System we will now have access to the large and growing repair segment of the heart valve market." He said that the Northrup Repair System "is uniquely designed so that it will be possible to use for robotic and endoscopic surgery." He said that MedicalCV will manufacture the system and sell it worldwide. The FDA approved MedicalCV's Omnicarbon heart valve in July 2001, and the company reports more than 30,000 Omnicarbon valves implanted in more than 30 countries.