Welch Allyn to unveil new VideoPath imaging platform at October AAFP assembly.

SKANEATELES FALLS, N.Y.--(HealthWire)--Oct. 1, 1996--A new medical imaging system providing hospital-quality diagnostic images at one-third the cost of current hospital systems will be introduced at the American Academy of Family Practitioners Assembly in New Orleans on October 3, 1996.

Welch Allyn's new video imaging platform, VideoPath(TM), transmits images obtained during diagnostic procedures to a VideoPath processor, which are then viewed on large high-resolution monitors in real time. VideoPath images can also be captured, recalled later, stored and printed for inclusion in patient files.

The VideoPath platform represents a first major step toward the practical implementation of telemedicine, particularly at the doctor's office level. With the creation of a cross-instrument universal imaging standard, consultative diagnosis, and patient information transmission, sharing and storage, all become feasible.

Along with the VideoPath platform, Welch Allyn will simultaneously introduce the first VideoPath instruments, a flexible sigmoidoscope and a colposcope, along with a universal proximal camera to add video capability to Welch Allyn hysteroscopes, laproscopes and rhinolaryngoscopes. In early 1997, a comprehensive image management system is slated to be released.

VideoPath was previewed for dealers and distributors at last week's HIDA (Health Industry Distributors Association) Show and was named Best New Product of the show.

All VideoPath instruments will be platform-compatible and "plug 'n play". A single VideoPath processor can meet all the diverse imaging requirements at its site, regardless of the source instrument.

During a diagnostic procedure, high resolution VideoPath images are viewed in real time on a monitor by the physician, and may also be simultaneously viewed by consulting or supervising physicians and the patient.

Physicians participating in VideoPath sigmoidoscope pilot installations report outstanding picture quality and ease of maneuverability. "You get an almost three-dimensional picture", said Dr. Vance Sanders, a Family Practitioner in Tucson. "You don't have that extra dimension when you are looking through a (fiberoptic) scope."

Unexpectedly dramatic increases in patient education, reassurance and satisfaction have also been reported during the field trials. "Doing examinations with VideoPath gives the patient confidence," said Lynn Flesner, Director of Nursing at Glacial Ridge Hospital and Healthcare Services in Glenwood, Minnesota. "I also find patient compliance is better because they can watch the exam (on the monitor) along with the physician."

The VideoPath platform delivers large, extremely sharp, high-resolution images of 250,000 to 350,000 pixels, comparable to most current hospital systems and far exceeding the 30,000 pixel resolution typical of today's fiberoptic systems. True color images, with far more accurate tissue color rendition and greater possible magnification, are produced by the VideoPath Solarc(TM) illumination system, equivalent to a 300 watt xenon light source without the heat.

Based in Skaneateles Falls, New York, Welch Allyn, Inc., has been a world leader in the design and manufacture of high-quality medical diagnostic instruments for more than 80 years.

CONTACT: Welch Allyn

Kelley Murphy, 315-685-4647

Joe Williams, 315-685-4568

or

Eric Mower and Associates

Peter Kapcio, 315-466-1000

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