June 27, 2002

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Carpe eDatum boards cruise ships

Austin-based Carpe eDatum Inc. announced a deal to provide its medical imaging networks to at least two Holland America Line cruise ships.

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Carpe eDatum CEO Gary Mermelstein says the agreement represents the company's first significant sale since it was founded last year. He declines to disclose financial details. Carpe eDatum secured the deal with its distribution partner, Ship-Rad Services of Vancouver, British Columbia. The arrangement calls for Carpe eDatum to install its Clinical Image Management System aboard two ships. Holland America has 11 ships that visit ports on all seven continents.

The technology behind the systems is licensed by Carpe eDatum from a Croatian company, Visual Analysis and Measurement Systems Technologies DOO. The first system soon will be installed in the cruise ship Amsterdam. The second system will be installed aboard the Zuiderdam, which is under construction in Italy and scheduled for launch before the end of the year.

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Once installed, Carpe eDatum's network will transmit via satellite X-rays and other medical images taken at the ships' infirmaries to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, or UTMB. Once the images are received, UTMB radiologists will be able to analyze the information and send back a diagnosis to on-board doctors. Mermelstein says the digital process improves efficiency, ensures security and patient privacy, reduce costs and allows same-day results. In an emergency, the entire process could be reduced to an hour, he says. "The current process aboard the ships' infirmaries is cumbersome and time-consuming, utilizing film and paper reports," says Sally van Boheemen, Holland America's manager of marine medical services. She says that without the system, "it would be virtually impossible to provide our doctors and passengers with the diagnostic expertise that will be gained by immediate consultation with UTMB staff radiologists."