TeraMedica, a Wauwatosa, WI-based healthcare informatics company, has been acquired by Fujifilm Medical Systems U.S.A., a subsidiary of the Tokyo-based conglomerate best known for selling camera film.
The deal is the second one this week involving a Wisconsin healthtech company, following Green Bay-based IOD’s merger with HealthPort.
It also marks the second acquisition by Fujifilm of a Wisconsin company this year. Fujifilm, the parent of Stamford, CT-based Fujifilm Medical Systems U.S.A., recently bought Madison-based Cellular Dynamics International for $307 million.
The purchase price for TeraMedica wasn’t disclosed. The company makes software for archiving and sharing patient data within hospitals and clinics, especially large image files, like those taken during CT and MRI scans, as well as videos taken during endoscopic exams and surgeries, Fujifilm says.
Hospitals have at times used their own independent applications for managing various types of patient records. Now, there’s increasing demand for “vendor neutral archive” systems likes those made by TeraMedica, which offer a centralized system for pulling data “from disparate healthcare IT applications” made by different software companies and used across a variety of departments at hospitals and clinics, Fujifilm says.
Founded in 2001, TeraMedica initially developed its product in partnership with the Mayo Clinic and rolled it out in 2003. Since then, TeraMedica software has been installed at 200 U.S. hospitals and more than 300 hospitals outside the U.S., Fujifilm says.
Fujifilm Medical Systems’ products include digital X-ray systems, endoscopes, and health imaging systems, as well as archiving software similar to TeraMedica’s products.
The two companies signed a U.S. distribution partnership in 2013. This week’s acquisition makes that relationship permanent. Snapping up TeraMedica allows Fujifilm Medical Systems to sell what it views as a leading clinical archiving technology.
TeraMedica “is a company with talented people and unique technology that will strengthen our position in healthcare informatics,” said Jim Morgan, Fujifilm Medical Systems vice president of medical informatics, in a press release. “Together, we will be able to deliver medical informatics solutions that acquire, analyze, interpret, and present patient data in ways that are meaningful for providers in the most challenging environments.”
Fujifilm plans to use its resources to push TeraMedica’s software into more hospitals worldwide. One of its bigger goals with the TeraMedica acquisition is to “build a system that can facilitate the coordination of clinical information between hospitals. This is the company’s bid in further promoting regional medical cooperation,” Fujifilm said.
