The total represents approximately 98 percent of ALI common shares. McKesson paid Cdn$43.50 cash per share. By acquiring more than 90 percent of ALI’s outstanding shares, McKesson can exercise its right to purchase any ALI shares not tendered in the transaction.

ALI is now part of McKesson’s Information Solutions division and known as the Medical Imaging Group. ALI’s product line will be called Horizon Medical Imaging and will expand McKesson’s Horizon Clinicals suite to include medical images.

With the addition of ALI, McKesson adds more than 500 installations of picture archiving and communications systems (PACS) throughout the United States and Canada.

McKesson has no plans to move ALI, as it opts to keep the PACS company in Vancouver. Greg Peet, ALI’s president and CEO, will continue to lead the former ALI.

Earlier this year, ALI began to expand its existing production area by 7,000 square feet to a total of 13,000 square feet. ALI also planned to incrementally add approximately 20,000 square feet to its staff facilities, bringing ALI’s complete complex to 72,000 square feet.

In FY2001, ending Oct. 31, ALI tallied total revenues of approximately US$27 million. For FY2002, ending Oct. 31, ALI in February predicted that revenues would exceed US$45 million for growth of 70 percent over FY01.

McKesson has annual revenues of more than US $50 billion, ranking it as the 31st largest industrial company in the United States.

The new company is called Comdisco Holding Company Inc. (Rosemont). Ronald C. Mishler will serve as chairman and CEO.

Under the amended reorganization plan — approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois on July 30 — the company will proceed with an up to three-year sale of its remaining assets.

The distribution of the net proceeds and accumulated cash is expected to return approximately 90 percent of funds owed to creditors. Comdisco expects to make an initial distribution to its stakeholders before the close of its current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. After that time, distributions are expected to be made on a quarterly or more frequent basis.

In November 2001, Comdisco sold certain assets of its Availability Solutions (AS) business to SunGard Data Systems Inc. (Wayne, Pa.) for $825 million in cash, plus approximately $25 million in cash for working capital. The sale included AS’ U.S. operations and its subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, France and Canada.

In January, Comdisco received the court’s blessing to divest its Electronics and Laboratory and Scientific equipment leasing businesses to GE Capital Corp.’s (Stamford, Conn.) Commercial Equipment Financing unit. GE paid approximately $665 million, with future payments based on various portfolio performance criteria.

On June 13, Comdisco completed the divestiture of its healthcare leasing assets in the United States to GE Capital Corp.’s Healthcare Financial Services unit for approximately $117 million. GE also assumed approximately $46 million in related secured debt and other liabilities.

Beginning April 14, 2003, the final regulation, among other provisions, guarantees patients access to their medical records, allows for more control over how their protected health information is used and disclosed, and provides a recourse if medical privacy is compromised. The rule applies to certain healthcare providers, hospitals, health plans, health insurers and healthcare clearinghouses.

The privacy rule stipulates that patients must give specific authorization before healthcare-related entities use or disclose protected information in most non-routine circumstances. Those situations would include releasing information to an employer or marketing activities. Doctors, health plans and other covered entities would be required to follow the rule’s standards for the use and disclosure of personal health information.

Healthcare-related entities also generally will need to provide patients with written notice of their privacy practices and patients’ privacy rights. Patients would be expected in most cases to sign or acknowledge receipt of the privacy notice from direct treatment providers.

Pharmacies, healthcare plans and other covered entities also must obtain a patient’s authorization before sending marketing materials. Doctors and other entities covered by the statute can communicate with patients about treatment options and other health-related information, including disease-management programs.

Patients generally will be able to access their personal medical records and request changes to correct any errors. In addition, patients generally could request an accounting of non-routine uses and disclosures of their health information.

More information on the final rule is available at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/ or at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/finalreg.html.

Most healthcare pro1viders, health plans and healthcare clearinghouses must comply with the privacy rule by April 14, 2003.

Aramark will pay approximately $100 million in cash for CTS. Pending regulatory and other approvals, the two companies expect the acquisition to close in the fourth quarter. CTS employees then will become Aramark employees.

Premier established CTS in 1973 to provide engineering and biomedical equipment services to hospitals. Today, CTS has approximately 600 employees who provide technology management services to more than 180 hospital and healthcare systems in 26 states. CTS includes a Network Technologies parts business, a technical resource and support center and a medical equipment services business. Premier estimates CTS’ annual revenues at approximately $125 million.

Aramark’s ServiceMaster Facility Services business currently provides clinical equipment services to some 175 healthcare institutions in the United States.

Aramark plans to continue to provide technology management and equipment maintenance and repair services to the more than 180 healthcare clients served by Premier’s CTS unit.

On July 1, Alliance expanded in northwest Indiana with the purchase of three freestanding medical imaging centers and three mobile, shared-service systems from several entities affiliated with Radiologic Associates of Northwest Indiana Inc.

The acquisitions include a multi-modality center, an open MRI center and a PET (positron emission tomography) facility. The mobile, shared-service systems are comprised of two SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) systems and a bone densitometry system.

Alliance expects the additions to contribute approximately $8 million in revenues annually.

Alliance also agreed to sell its lithotripsy business to UMS United Medical Systems Inc. (Westborough, Mass.). The all-cash transaction valued at approximately $10 million is expected to close this month.

According to UMS, the lithotripsy unit has annual sales of approximately $5 million and includes approximately 90 units, located primarily in the Midwest and northeast United States.

The acquisition would be an expansion for UMS, which currently provides urological, orthopedic shock wave therapy and stereotactic breast biopsy services to healthcare institutions. The company estimates that it has exclusive contracts with 400 healthcare institutions and surgery centers in 25 states and Canada.

Analogic will provide advanced engineering and manufacturing services to develop additional CT subassemblies and components for Philips. Analogic also will continue to supply data acquisition systems, spare parts and engineering services for the Analogic-made CT systems for Philips.

In addition, the multi-year, multi-million dollar agreement will have Analogic continue to supply patient monitoring equipment to Philips, which garnered the product line through its August 2001 acquisition of Agilent Technologies Inc.’s (Palo Alto, Calif.) Healthcare Solutions Group (HSG of Andover, Mass.). Analogic had an existing agreement with HSG to produce the monitor when the transaction occurred.

Goodman on Aug. 5 acquired the Massachusetts company, making LightLab a wholly owned subsidiary. Goodman develops, manufactures and distributes vascular interventional devices.

LightLab describes OCT as a high-resolution, high-speed medical imaging modality that uses advanced photonics for imaging and tissue characterization. The company believes OCT can change the way physicians, researchers and scientists view and understand the human body in order to diagnose and treat disease. LightLab sees potential healthcare applications, such as cardiovascular imaging, cancer detection and vulnerable plaque detection. If OCT works well in cancer detection, the technology could reduce the need for biopsies or guide biopsy procedures.

In June, LightLab initiated a clinical study of OCT and 0.014-inch ImageWire. The study at Rhode Island Hospital (Providence, R.I.) is designed to evaluate the feasibility of using the LightLab OCT imaging platform to obtain an understanding of cardiac anatomy. The study will target arterial plaques to enable better deployment of cardiac therapies, such as stent placements in selected patients undergoing interventional procedures.

Using only a single micro-optic probe approximately five times smaller than interventional ultrasound (IVUS) cores, OCT is designed to enable clinicians to obtain images of coronary anatomy at resolutions approximately 10 times higher than any medical imaging technology currently available.

The company hopes to prove its OCT technology is superior to angiography and IVUS in imaging early stages of cardiac disease.

LightLab cardiology products currently are pending FDA 510(k) clearance.

The partnership includes three five-year working agreements. The most significant pact is Siemens using Hologic’s DirectRay digital mammography flat detector technology exclusively for Siemens’ full-field digital mammography (FFDM) system. In turn, Hologic will adapt its patented DirectRay amorphous selenium direct-to-digital mammography technology to Siemens’ FFDM system.

The second part of the alliance will have Siemens supported by Hologic to accelerate the time-to-market schedule for Siemens’ FFDM product incorporating Hologic’s DirectRay technology, including the right to refer to Hologic’s premarket approval (PMA) applications.

“Hologic and Siemens will have the potential to define the new standards in digital mammography technology and our cooperation on time-to-market will significantly accelerate the timely release of Siemens’ FFDM system,” said Holger Schmidt, president of the Special Systems division of Siemens Medical Solutions (Erlangen), in a prepared statement.

Under the third component of the pact, Hologic will license advanced image processing and display software developed by Siemens affiliate MeVis BreastCare GmbH&Co. KG. Hologic’s goal is to provide an efficient, integrated approach to breast cancer detection. MeVis’ software would be the core platform to construct a dedicated physician’s workstation designed to improve workflow and patient throughput of FFDM systems.

“We have selected Siemens’ advanced image processing and display software, as we see this far ahead of any other available products today,” said Hologic President and CEO Jack Cumming. “By combining forces, this alliance allows both companies to expand worldwide market penetration.”

Hologic also is one step closer to receiving FDA clearance for its second full-field digital mammography system, the Selenia.

The company received an approvable letter from the FDA in July for a premarket approval (PMA) supplement, which covers the use of Hologic’s proprietary DirectRay amorphous-selenium, direct-to-digital image receptor for its Lorad Selenia. The letter also covers both soft- and hard-copy reading of digital images produced by Selenia.

Final approval of the PMA supplement is subject to an FDA inspection of Hologic’s manufacturing facilities according to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines.

Hologic currently has PMA approval for its Lorad Digital Breast Imager (LDBI) full-field digital mammography system, which the company received in March. The LDBI uses charged-coupled device (CCD) detector technology and is designed for use in the same clinical applications as traditional screen-film mammographic systems.

Even though Hologic has PMA approval for the LDBI, the company released a limited number of devices into the market, opting instead to focus its resources on the Selenia, its development and regulatory process.

The Selenia features Hologic’s amorphous selenium DirectRay direct-to-digital technology, which the company acquired in its June 1999 acquisition of Direct Radiography Corp. (DRC of Newark, Del.).

Hologic has installed the Selenia at Johns Hopkins Medical Center (Baltimore, Md.) and Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston), where the system has been gathering data for the FDA.

“We believe the Selenia system will provide outstanding performance to aid physicians in the early detection of breast cancer due to its image quality and dose utilization characteristics,” said Cumming in a prepared statement. “We also believe it will provide the capability for higher patient throughput and greater efficiency when compared to conventional screen-film mammography.”

Hologic says the Selenia’s PMA supplement represents the first review by the FDA of a mammography system using this direct conversion technology.

Del in July also announced that GE Medical Systems (GEMS of Waukesha, Wis.) plans to in-source work currently performed by Del’s Hicksville facility to one of GEMS’ own operations.

As a result, Del’s agreement to assemble power supply subsystems for GEMS’ MRI units is scheduled to terminate by the end of October. The contract generated approximately $8 million in revenues over the last 12 months.

Daniel J. Pisano, president of Del’s Power Conversion Group, said that while the company is “disappointed” to lose the GEMS’ contract, the work involved Del “acting as an assembler of components that are proprietary to GE Medical Systems.

“This activity does not fit into Del Power Conversion’s long-term strategy of providing customers with value-added service, where we provide product design and engineering at much higher margin,” Pisano said.

Regarding its Power Conversion Group’s move, Del already has transferred the engineering function at Hicksville to Valhalla, completing the relocation in late April.

Sales, marketing, accounting and administrative functions will follow suit over the next three months. The final phase of the move will be the transfer and integration of strategic product lines by December.

Del expects the relocation to result in approximately $2 million in annual savings. Those savings will begin in Del’s first and second fiscal quarters, ending in October 2002 and January 2003.

Del also expects to incur facilities reorganization charges related to the consolidation of between $2 million and $2.2 million in its fourth fiscal quarter, ending Aug. 3.

Under the agreement, Guidant would acquire Cook Group in a stock-for-stock transaction, which includes Cook Inc. (Bloomington), Cook Urological (Spencer, Ind.), Sabin Corp. (Bloomington), Wilson-Cook Medical Inc. (Winston-Salem, N.C.), Cook Ireland Ltd. (Limerick, Ireland), William Cook Europe ApS (Bjaeverskov, Denmark), and William A. Cook Australia Pty. Ltd. (Brisbane, Australia). The deal also would include Cook-owned sales and distribution companies around the world.

The acquisition faces the usual regulatory hurdles and approvals. The companies say the transaction could be completed by early next year.

Vital Images Inc. (Minneapolis) has named Jeremy A. Abbs as vice president of marketing. Abbs replaces Jay D. Miller, who was promoted to president and CEO in February. Abbs previously served at Boston Scientific Corp.’s (Natick, Mass.) Scimed division, where he was the group marketing manager for emerging technology and market development. Prior to Boston Scientific, Abbs served as the global product manager for cardiac surgical products at Medtronic Inc. (Minneapolis).

SonoSite Inc.’s (Bothell, Wash.) Chief Product and Strategy Officer Jens U. Quistgaard, Ph.D., has left the company, effective August 5, to become president and CEO LipoSonix Inc. (Seattle). LipoSonix specializes in medical devices for cosmetic surgery applications. Quistgaard has served at SonoSite since it began five years ago as the Handheld Systems Business Group within the former ATL Ultrasound (Bothell). SonoSite also announced that the company has named Blake Little as senior engineering officer and technology spokesperson. Little has served at SonoSite as the company’s vice president of engineering.

American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO of Fairfax, Va.) has named Laura Thevenot as its new executive director. Thevenot most recently served as COO and executive vice president of the Federation of American Hospitals (Fairfax). She replaces Tom Nelson, who served as interim executive director while ASTRO searched for a permanent COO.

GE Medical Systems Information Technologies (GEMSIT of Waukesha, Wis.) has named Peter McClennen as its new global general manager of upstream marketing. McClennen joins GEMSIT after serving as marketing manager of imaging and information networks at Fujifilm Medical Systems USA (Stamford, Conn.).

CMS manufactures, markets and supports 3D radiation treatment planning systems, and PC-based planning applications for clinicians.

Burdette develops medical devices, systems and software for the guidance and visualization of minimally invasive treatments for cancer. Its interplant II system is designed to transform brachytherapy treatment for prostate cancer using real-time, intra-operative treatment guidance and 3D visualization.

Tayman Medical develops, manufactures and markets medical products for the brachytherapy market. Its AccuSeed universal stepper/stabilizer system for ultrasound-guided brachytherapy is designed for accurate positioning of prostate radiation implants. AccuSeed is installed in 300 locations worldwide.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. CMS plans to continue to operate Burdette from its research-and-development facility in Champaign. CMS also has regional offices in Freiburg, Germany; Tokyo, Japan; and Shanghai, China.

Tayman Medical itself is a recent addition to Burdette, having been acquired by Burdette in November 2001. Tayman Medical was founded in 1995; Burdette was founded in 1997.

The new organization will target facilities, which produce positron emitting radioisotopes used in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. The firm also will work with automated synthesis facilities producing and distributing F-18 FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose), the most widely used positron-emitting radiopharmaceutical in PET scanning.

CycloMedical will offer short-term consultation to longer-term retainer arrangements and will assist clients in the regulatory process, as well as cyclotron operation and FDG production. Contract management services will include operating a cyclotron/FDG production facility and providing support for an in-place management team.

The management team will include co-founder James Lamb as president. Lamb is a former manager of research-and-development of P.E.T.Net Pharmaceutical Services (Knoxville) and most recently general manager of FDG production and distribution at three cyclotron facilities.

CycloMedical currently operates two cyclotron and FDG facilities at Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore, Md.) and Jaxpet LLC (Jacksonville, Fla.).

A total of 238 deals were announced in 13 healthcare sectors, marking the highest level of activity since the fourth quarter of 2000. The second-quarter total represents a 15 percent increase over 207 deals unveiled in the first quarter of 2002 and a 12 percent hike over the 213 deals of the second quarter of 2001.

In the first six months of 2002, healthcare entities have spent $23.5 billion on 445 transactions.

The numbers are contained in a new report from research firm Irving Levin Associates Inc. (New Canaan, Conn.).

The proposed transactions are becoming more expensive as well. The dollar value of the deals announced in the second quarter rose 96 percent to $15.6 billion, compared with $7.9 billion in the first quarter 2002. Healthcare services garnered the largest share of the second-quarter transaction money with $9.6 billion, or 62 percent, of the total.

Medical device companies accounted for 36 proposed transactions in the second quarter, down 31 percent from 52 deals in the first quarter of 2002, but a gain of 24 percent when compared with 29 mergers and acquisitions in the year-ago quarter.

The report cites new reimbursement protocols as one catalyst for the increased activity. In the near term, the study speculates that healthcare technology companies, particularly the pharmaceutical sector, will dominate the merger and acquisition activity.

A series of write-offs and charges produced a net loss for Syncor International Corp. (Woodland Hills, Calif.) in the second quarter. Net sales increased 31 percent to $189.3 million, compared with $144.4 million in the second quarter of 2001. Syncor also posted a net loss of $15 million, compared with net income of $10.1 million in the year-ago quarter. The company’s net loss is due, in part, to a $3.1 million charge related to the reorganization of its IT division, corporate severance for former executives, and expenses related to Syncor’s proposed acquisition by Cardinal Health Inc. (Dublin, Ohio). Syncor also took an $11.2 million charge for discontinued operations of certain overseas and other assets, as well as charges within its Comprehensive Medical Imaging business. For the six-month period, net sales grew 28 percent to $362.9 million, up from $284.5 million in the first half of 2001. The company posted a net loss of $4.1 million, compared with net income of $21.2 million in the year-ago period.

Alliance Imaging Inc. (Anaheim, Calif.) continued to grow revenues to record levels in the second quarter. Revenues climbed 11 percent to $103.8 million, compared with $93.4 million in the second quarter of 2001. Net income slipped to $785,000, compared with $9.6 million in the year-ago quarter. For the first six months of 2002, revenues increased 10 percent to a record $202.6 million, up from $184.7 million in the same period of 2001. Net income declined to $2 million, compared with $17.5 million in the year-ago period. Part of the reason for the earnings decline was a first-half $2.2 million extraordinary loss related to a charge for unamortized deferred financing costs from last year’s refinancing of the company’s $260 million senior subordinated credit facility.

Revenue gains in its mammography business offset a decline in the osteoporosis assessment segment, as Hologic Inc. (Bedford, Mass.) turned a profit in its third fiscal quarter, ending June 29. Revenues increased 6 percent to $47.6 million, compared with $44.9 million in the third quarter of FY01. Hologic posted a net income of $492,000, compared with a net loss of $1.2 million in the year-ago quarter. For the nine-month period, revenues advanced to $140.8 million, compared with $133.2 million in the same period of FY01. The company reported net income of $3.3 million, compared with a net loss of $15.9 million in the year-ago period. Hologic’s mammography revenues — its largest product segment — rose to $19.2 million in the quarter, compared with $13.5 million in the year-ago quarter. Its osteoporosis assessment revenues decreased to $15.8 million, compared with $17.4 million in the year-ago quarter.

A series of new contracts over the first half of 2002 powered IDX Systems Corp. (Burlington, Vt.) to greater revenues and earnings in the second quarter. Revenues increased to $112.7 million, compared with $104.3 million in the second quarter of 2001. Net income nearly tripled to $2.8 million, compared with $1 million in the year-ago quarter. For the six-month period, revenues grew to $220.6 million, compared with $198.9 million for the same period in 2001. Net income rose to $4 million, compared with $800,000 in the year-ago period. The healthcare IT company said it is “comfortable” with estimated revenues of $430 million to $450 million for 2002.

Revenues from a product development agreement helped push Epix Medical Inc.’s (Cambridge, Mass.) revenues higher in the second quarter. Revenues totaled $3.7 million, compared with $2.2 million in the second quarter of 2001. Approximately $2.8 million of the total came from product development portion of Epix’ strategic collaboration agreement for the development of MS-325 with Schering AG (Berlin). The company posted a net loss of $6.7 million, compared with a net loss of $5.1 million in the year-ago quarter. For the six-month period, revenues increased to $5.8 million, compared with $3.9 million in the first half of 2001. The net loss also increased to $11.3 million, compared with a net loss of $10.1 million in the year-ago period. Epix currently is in Phase III clinical trials for MS-325 for imaging in aortoiliac, renal and pedal arteries.