Nuclear develops computer network based on IBM business partnership

Summit Nuclear, a unit of Summit World Trade, has formed a businesspartnership with IBM. The IBM RS/6000 workstation serves as thecenterpiece of a nuclear medicine image and information network,called Vision, which was developed internally by Summit.

IBM's 30,000 engineers in the U.S. will assist Summit in servicingVision customers. Shipments of the product are expected to beginin September, said Gary W. Enos, Summit Nuclear vice president.

Summit Nuclear of Twinsburg, OH, formerly Spectrum MedicalSystems, was formed two and a half years ago by SWT to take overdistribution of Hitachi nuclear imaging equipment after Raytheonexited the medical imaging business (SCAN 12/14/88).

The partnership with Hitachi in nuclear medicine continues.In fact, the Japanese vendor will distribute Vision systems inAsia, Enos said.

Both companies will continue to sell Hitachi's high-powered64-bit 1024 64DP computer. Data from current Hitachi nuclearmedicine cameras can be ported to the Vision network through adata transport module developed by Summit. Future Hitachi nuclearcameras are being designed to work in parallel with the Visionarchitecture, Enos said.

"Our alliance with Hitachi is still extremely strong interms of the development, marketing, and product management ofgamma camera systems," Enos told SCAN. "On the computerside, however, we decided--and Hitachi agreed--that we would enterinto our own development program using platforms like IBM's andour own software for acquisition, data management and display."

The Summit Group of companies also includes Hitachi MedicalSystems America, an MRI joint venture with the Japanese vendor.Summit was founded and continues to be led by a group of imagingexecutives from Technicare, the now-defunct Johnson & Johnsonmedical imaging company.

Vision development was performed by Summit Laboratories, anothersister company.