ALGOTEC ANNOUNCES PAY-PER-USE
INTERNET IMAGE MANAGEMENT

Significantly Reduces Implementation Costs

Duluth, Ga., April 6 - Algotec Systems, the first firm to receive FDA clearance for Web-based medical image management and delivery almost three years ago, will announce a new model to make this advanced technology available to healthcare facilities and individual physicians worldwide on an economical pay-per-use basis.  Algotec will present its model at the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) meeting in Dallas, April 9 through 13.

Algotec has been offering radiologists and other healthcare providers the technology to deliver and process diagnostic medical images - X-rays, MRI, CT, Ultrasound and others - over the Internet worldwide since 1996, said Kobi Margolin, vice president for Algotec, Inc., based in Duluth GA.   But until now, both proprietary networked Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS) and the more recent Web-based PACS have required a large capital outlay for in-house data storage, management and processing hardware and software.  Many healthcare enterprises, especially smaller ones, simply could not afford the high price tag.”

Application Service Provider (ASP) model offers the opportunity for high-quality, high-speed, cost-efficient Web-based PACS to healthcare facilities, free-standing clinics as well as individual physicians with limited budgets anywhere.

Margolin explains that Algotec will receive and store on its own hardware the medical image data from participating healthcare facilities.  To obtain an imaging study and corresponding report, any physician anywhere can access Algotecs server from their desktop with proper security authorization and a PC with an Internet connection.  Doctors will receive the image as well as all the tools necessary to process it through JAVA technology. 

As a pioneer in the field of Internet-based PACS and teleradiology, Algotec is committed to offering the Internets benefits to all healthcare enterprises, many of which are struggling to find a balance between the cost efficiencies dictated by managed care and their commitment to quality patient care, said Margolin.  “To us, the e in e-health stands for efficiency.”

He notes that medical images are a crucial diagnostic tool and that faster, more streamlined diagnosis can save lives.  Through Algotecs four-year-old Internet-based PACS technology, images may be sent immediately and cost-effectively across town or the globe to specialists for a second opinion, to consulting doctors and to referring physicians.

“Internet medical teleconferences can even be set up to involve several specialists in immediately reaching a diagnosis, he said.  While the technology is not new, it is evolving at a rapid pace, with faster, more accurate diagnosis being realized almost daily.  With Algotecs ASP model, medical facilities from large metropolitan hospitals to small, rural clinics, will be able to offer patients a similar high level of diagnostic care.

Imaginet's family of comprehensive Web-based PACS and clinical image management offerings provide comprehensive solutions, allowing Algotec to bring healthcare facilities of all sizes online for clinical image management.  The Imaginet product suite includes all the components necessary for digital storage, distribution, clinical and diagnostic review of images, as well as seamless integration with other types of clinical and healthcare data.

To date, Algotec products are installed in over 700 hospitals worldwide.  Algotecs Web-based clinical image server has more than 120 installations - the largest install base of any Web-based PACS today.

Algotec is a privately held company with offices in Raanana, Israel, Duluth, GA, Wiesbaden, Germany and Paris, France.   Algotec has been a recognized leader in the medical imaging information management, processing, teleradiology and PACS arena since 1993.  Until recently, it developed components for major PACS manufacturers as well as marketing them under its own name.

Algotec will announce details of its ASP model at a press conference at HIMSS at the Dallas Convention Center on Tuesday, April 11, from 2:30 to 3PM.  For HIMSS, Algotec will be located in booth 8131. For further information about Algotec, call 770-291-2022 or visit their website at www.algotec.com.  For information about HIMSS, call 312-664-4467 or visit their website at www.himss.org.