Guardian Technologies Signs BRIT Systems as First Customer for DEVision Medical Imaging Compression Capabilities
Guardian Technologies International, Inc. (OTCBB:GDTI), a developer of imaging technologies for homeland security and radiology image management, announced today that it has entered into an OEM contract from BRIT Systems for the licensing of components of Guardian’s DEVision(TM) (DEV(TM)). DEVision is a versatile, feature-rich, compression suite suitable in all medical imaging settings. The one-year contract has the option to renew for multiple years.
“We selected Guardian’s DEVision JPEG2000 because it provided a feature-rich software development kit with the most flexible and straightforward integration with our PACS and teleradiology systems,” said Shelly Fischer, President BRIT Systems. “Guardian’s technology offers unprecedented capabilities to automatically determine how to best compress the image based on user parameters. DEVision’s standards-based compression integrates well into our standards-based product line to save time and money on integration.”
BRIT Systems, a provider of custom, turnkey solutions for PACS and teleradiology applications, will incorporate the DEVision JPEG-2000 compression capabilities into its web distribution product that is distributed to healthcare imaging facilities nationwide.
This contract marks a milestone for Guardian’s Healthcare Systems division, as it is the first contract for DEVision since Guardian acquired the technology in December 2003. Guardian has spent the past months developing the technology into the DEVision medical imaging suite with components for superior, optimized diagnostic and clinical compression; deep archiving, web-based image distribution and PACS image viewing for PACS and teleradiology communication.
“BRIT Systems is technically innovative and well-respected in the industry so we are very pleased that they have chosen to enhance their PACS offering with our DEVision compression technology,” said Michael Trudnak, Guardian Technologies CEO. “This first contract marks the start of our transition from the research and development phase to the marketing phase for the DEVision suite. We acquired the DEVision technology because it has proprietary capabilities that provide great flexibility in compressing images. We believe DEVision’s capabilities fill a distinct and growing need for complementary image management software technologies within the healthcare industry due to the industry’s expanding use of imaging and the growth of web-based teleradiology applications.”
“We are focused on providing solutions for the unparalleled growth of digital imaging studies,” explained Richard Borrelli, Guardian Technologies Vice President of Business Development. “Study volumes are growing exponentially, as are the number of images per study combined with demands for increased image resolution. This growth is now placing greater demands on distribution and archiving requirements. Feature-rich compression solutions, such as DEVision, will help our customers maximize archive capacity, network bandwidth and PACS performance, providing an superior systems solution.”
Utilizing JPEG 2000, JPEG LS, JPEG 1.0 and PNG (portable network graphics) and a variety of lossy and lossless compression algorithms, the DEVision imaging suite consists of several related, but independent, compression tools for archiving and image streaming that can be customized for specific client needs:
— DEV Clinical uses a breakthrough real-time feedback process to “tune” the compression to consistently deliver the highest possible visually lossless compression by balancing multiple factors “on-the-fly;”
— DEV Distance provides streaming through JPIP a robust network communications and workflow toolbox to allow images to be quickly and securely transmitted over telecom and wireless networks, organized for effective and accurate reading;
— DEV Archive provides totally reversible, lossless compression ratios of up to 10:1 to make possible affordable mass storage of historical radiology.
The heart of DEVision’s performance is a proprietary preprocessing and tuning engine that adjusts compression based on definable image characteristics enabling a sort by modality, image series, and individual image. The software program can be implemented in industry-accepted JPEG 2000 compression standards or proprietary compression schemes depending on clients needs.
About BRIT Systems, Inc.
BRIT Systems is a technology company from Dallas, Texas that has been providing custom, turnkey solutions for PACS and teleradiology applications for more than 10 years. BRIT’s systems are built around industry standards such as DICOM-3 and HL-7 and include tools for HIPAA compliance. Highly available servers provide mission-critical operations for the integration into other information systems and the storage and distribution of images, including web viewing options with IHE capabilities. An overview of BRIT’s product line can be found at www.brit.com .
About Guardian Technologies, International, Inc.
Guardian Technologies, based in Dulles, Virginia, employs high-performance imaging technologies and advanced analytics to create integrated information management products and services. It primarily focuses on the areas of healthcare radiology and transportation security scanning. Guardian’s products and services automate the processing of large quantities of graphic, numeric, and textual data so organizations can efficiently detect, extract, analyze and effectively act upon the information gleaned from the data. Guardian’s solutions are designed to improve the quality and speed of decision-making and enhance organizational productivity and accuracy. For additional information, please visit Guardian’s, web site at www.guardiantechintl.com .
