These Kodak medical imaging specialists, to be deployed in different areas of the world, will work in tandem with Health Imaging''s account managers, who concentrate on understanding customers and their needs intimately.

"The specialist/account manager arrangement is a powerful combination," says Candy M Obourn, chief operating officer of the Health Imaging Group, Kodak''s second-largest business. "If an imaging centre or hospital radiology department is interested in a picture archiving and communications system [PACS], for example, the partnership between one of our account managers and a specialist from our Healthcare Information Systems business, will bring to bear both keen understanding of the customer''s prospective installation and the technical expertise to impart maximum value for that installation."

"How we deploy these specialists will vary from country to country," she adds, "depending on market demands and on medical imaging technology developments." The specialist/account manager arrangement, already underway in Health Imaging''s highly successful analogue film business, will be extended to Health Imaging''s other businesses with initial focus on: Digital Capture Systems, which develops and markets industry-leading computed radiography and digital radiography products, and Healthcare Information Systems, which offers a suite of hardware and software products for the management and storage of medical images.

In addition to increasing customer satisfaction and improving Kodak''s ability to drive growth in the expanding worldwide market for digital health care products and services, this initiative is intended to make Health Imaging a more competitive and business-focused organisation.

"We are constantly fine-tuning our organisation to enhance our digital expertise and bring a level of focus on serving our customers that sets Kodak far apart from other companies," says Dan Kerpelman, president, Health Imaging Group, and senior vice-president, Kodak. "By bringing our product knowledge closer to the customer, not only will we see even higher levels of customer satisfaction, but we will identify new opportunities to grow our business as well."

Kodak''s Health Imaging Group is a world leader in developing, manufacturing and marketing intelligent imaging products from analogue to digital. Its portfolio includes computed radiography and digital radiography systems, laser imagers, picture archiving and communications systems (PACS), radiology information systems, traditional mammography and x-ray film systems, dental imaging and services. The group, with annual revenues of $2.27 billion, has served the global healthcare community for more than 100 years.

The Health Imaging Group and Kodak''s other major businesses — the Photography Group, the Commercial Imaging Group, the Display Business and the Components Business — together are leading participants in infoimaging, a $385-billion industry created by the convergence of image-and-information technology. Infoimaging unites three closely related imaging markets that enable end users to more easily capture, process and share images and information: devices; infrastructure, such as PACS/networks; and professional services and media.