It seems that some opportunities just can't wait. Only a few weeks after Agfa-Gevaert CEO Klaus Seeger signaled the firm's intent to finance medical acquisitions from the sale of its consumer imaging business, the PACS vendor bought speech recognition powerhouse Talk Technology.
Thus Agfa of Mortsel, Belgium, gains access to Talk's TalkStation product line, which provides speech recognition, digital dictation and transcription, workflow support, custom reporting, report tracking and retrieval, and advanced report distribution. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The deal enables Agfa to integrate speech recognition into its product line, building a comprehensive and integrated image and information management system, according to John Glass, managing director of medical imaging at Agfa. Product integration is already underway. At the 2000 RSNA meeting, the company displayed Talk's speech recognition technology as part of its Impax PACS network.
The acquisition is also part of a larger strategy to diversify into other clinical areas. As part of this effort, Agfa completed an investment in European RIS firm Quadrat in August 2000, and debuted an electronic patient record offering at the European Congress of Radiology in March. Agfa also introduced Impax for Cardiology in March.
Talk's products aren't used exclusively for radiology, but in areas such as emergency medicine and pathology as well. The Bensalem, PA-based firm has over 2,500 users at more than 200 healthcare facilities in the U.S., according to Agfa.
Talk has put together a stable of OEM and VAR partners, inking deals with vendors such as Sunquest Information Systems, Marconi Medical Systems, and Philips Medical Systems in the last year.
Agfa will continue those relationships, spokesperson Johan Jacobs told AuntMinnie.com. Agfa has already been growing its OEM medical imaging business, recently signing agreements to supply GE Medical Systems with its ADC computed radiography systems, for example.
"We expect to retain the existing Talk OEM relationships and support them in the future," Jacobs said. "Of course, the goal with the acquisition is to differentiate the Agfa solution, just as we did with Impax and ADC, but we are not excluding any OEM opportunities."
Talk will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Agfa. In addition to its Pennsylvania headquarters, Talk also maintains an R&D facility in New York City. Founded in 1993, privately held Talk has 30 employees in North America.
By Erik L. RidleyAuntMinnie.com staff writer
April 13, 2001
Related Reading
Agfa to market EMC storage, April 12, 2001
Agfa eyeing medical imaging acquisitions, April 3, 2001
Agfa releases Impax for Cardiology, March 19, 2001
Agfa launches electronic patient record at ECR show, March 6, 2001
Marconi to integrate Talk Technology’s TalkStation, October 2, 2000
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