MINNEAPOLIS and LITTLE ROCK, Ark., April 13, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vital Images, Inc. (Nasdaq:VTAL), a leading provider of advanced visualization and analysis software, announced today that it is collaborating with Arkansas Children's Hospital of Little Rock, Ark., to develop a Vitrea® pediatric cardiac application. The software is an advanced visualization tool designed specifically to meet the unique cardiac features and patient care requirements presented by pediatric patients. Vital Images will demonstrate the new application at The Society for Pediatric Radiology 2010 Annual Meeting, April 13-17, in Boston as a work in progress.
"Capturing images of hearts in infants and children is especially challenging, because their hearts are small and beat faster. In addition, they often require sedation to stay still for an exam," said Dr. Bruce Greenberg. "With the youngest patients, speed is essential to obtain the sharp 3D and 4D images that show structural abnormalities and shorten exam times in order to reduce exposure to radiation – a significant safety factor. We look forward to working with Vital Images to develop a Vitrea application that expedites the analysis of pediatric cases at Arkansas Children's Hospital and eventually at other institutions worldwide."
Currently, advanced visualization software designed for adults is utilized to analyze pediatric patients. The ability to obtain 3D and 4D images specifically for pediatric patients will ultimately provide pediatric radiologists with more specialized tools to improve patient outcomes. The Vitrea® software from Vital Images is the most widely-used advanced visualization software in the world, serving patients at over 4,000 hospitals in more than 80 countries. Vital Images co-developed this application in collaboration with Toshiba, a strategic partner since 1999, leveraging the Aquilion®ONECT scanner which is used by Arkansas Children's Hospital.
"This collaboration with Arkansas Children's Hospital builds on both our cardiac application and our ongoing technology development partnership with Toshiba," said Vikram Simha, chief technology officer at Vital Images. "We are excited about working with Dr. Greenberg and Arkansas Children's Hospital to develop our Vitrea application to help cardiologists and radiologists analyze pediatric cardiac conditions more effectively and efficiently. Our goal is to bring our high-performance solutions to physicians and patients throughout the healthcare enterprise, and this is a strong example."
Vital Images plans to launch the Vitrea® Pediatric Cardiac application in mid-2010.
About Arkansas Children's Hospital
Arkansas Children's Hospital is the only pediatric medical center in Arkansas and one of the largest in the United States serving children from birth to age 21. The campus spans 29 city blocks and houses 316 beds, a staff of approximately 500 physicians, 80 residents in pediatrics and pediatric specialties and more than 4,200 employees. The private, nonprofit healthcare facility boasts an internationally renowned reputation for medical breakthroughs and intensive treatments, unique surgical procedures and forward-thinking medical research -- all dedicated to fulfilling its mission of enhancing, sustaining and restoring children's health and development.ACH is ranked 85th on the 2010 FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For®. For more information, visit http://www.archildrens.org/">www.archildrens.org.
About Vitrea®
The Vitrea® product line from Vital Images is the winner of numerous industry awards including the "Best New Radiology Software" in 2009 from Aunt Minnie for Vitrea® Enterprise Suite (VES). VES is a premier package of advanced visualization tools, clinical applications and data management systems. VitreafX is designed specifically for the Toshiba AquilionONE® CT scanner which scans an entire organ in a single pass and produces 3D and 4D videos that show an organ's structure, movement and blood flow. The Vitrea® line includes advanced visualization solutions and clinical applications for seamless integration into PACS as well as tools that can be accessed anywhere, anytime.
About Vital Images
Vital Images, Inc. is a market leader in advanced visualization software solutions for physicians and healthcare specialists. The company's sophisticated technology gives radiologists, cardiologists, oncologists and other medical specialists productivity and communications tools that can be accessed throughout the enterprise and via the Web, any time, anywhere to improve patient diagnosis and outcomes. Vitrea®software is utilized at more than 4,000 hospitals in over 80 countries. Established in 1988 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Vital Images also has offices in Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.vitalimages.com.
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Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are intended to enjoy the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by that Act. These statements involve risks and uncertainties which could cause results to differ materially from those projected, including but not limited to dependence on market growth, challenges associated with international expansion, the ability to predict product, customer and geographic sales mix, fluctuations in interest rates, regulatory approvals, the timely introduction, availability and acceptance of new products, the impact of competitive products and pricing, dependence on major customers, the ability to successfully manage operating costs, fluctuations in quarterly results, approval of products for reimbursement and the level of reimbursement, and other factors detailed from time to time in Vital Images' SEC reports, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009. Vital Images encourages you to consider all of these risks, uncertainties and other factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained in this release. As a result of these matters, changes in facts, assumptions not being realized or other circumstances, the company's actual results may differ materially from the expected results discussed in the forward-looking statements contained in this release. The forward-looking statements made in this release are made only as of the date of this release, and the company undertakes no obligation to update them to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.