Merge Healthcare Continues to Advance MRI by Supporting Excellence in Education at RSNA 2009

MILWAUKEE - (BUSINESS WIRE) - As a part of its commitment to MRI education, Merge Healthcare (NASDAQ: MRGE), a health IT solutions leader, will be supporting broad-based MRI workshops at RSNA (Radiological Society of North America) 2009. Merge will host 13 CADstream MRI-CAD hands-on workshops at this year's annual meeting. Workshops will teach RSNA registrants the principles of interpretation and interventional planning in breast MRI, and interpretation of prostate and liver MRI studies. Additionally, Merge will showcase the CADstream liver application, the first MRI-CAD for liver.

Over 300 RSNA registrants are scheduled to attend CADstream MRI-CAD hands-on workshops. Although the workshops are currently sold out through RSNA, a limited number of tickets are available through www.merge.com/CAD. Workshop faculty includes Jeffrey Maki, MD, PhD, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Joy Darrah, MD, First Hill Diagnostic Imaging, Seattle, WA; Ian Gardiner, MD, Canada Diagnostic Center, Vancouver, BC; Daniel Margolis, MD, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA and David Russell, MD, Inland Imaging, Spokane, WA.

"We are thrilled to have such a strong response to our educational sessions at RSNA," says Paul Budak, President, Merge CAD. "CADstream is a dedicated MRI-CAD system designed to dramatically improve workflow by automating the analysis, reporting and monitoring of studies. Thousands of clinicians worldwide use CADstream for breast and prostate analysis. Our commitment to training sessions like these helps further adoption, as well as educates radiologists on new applications like liver."

"MRI is an important diagnostic imaging tool for the evaluation, assessment and management of liver disease," says Jeffrey Maki, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiology and Director of Body MRI at the University of Washington in Seattle. "However, the study can be laborious and complex to process and interpret, particularly in patients with end-stage cirrhosis. CADstream's application for liver MRI provides valuable tools for standardizing study analysis and interpretation, as well as a comprehensive liver-specific reporting feature. The application can dramatically improve workflow, allowing us to more effectively follow lesion progression over time and communicate study results to the referring clinicians."

"CADstream's application for liver MRI reinforces our continued vision to deliver the most innovative MRI-CAD in the industry and brings CADstream potential to the millions of liver studies done each year globally," adds Budak. "Based on extensive input and feedback from customers and corporate partners, we firmly believe the liver application will bring tremendous benefits to clinicians by streamlining the analysis and interpretation of studies."

CADstream's new application for liver MRI will be showcased at RSNA in Merge Healthcare's exhibition (Hall A, Booth 5619) and at the Case Review with CADstream MRI-CAD for Liver MRI workshops (Hall D, Booth VCW1). Learn more by visiting www.merge.com/rsna. Additionally, clinicians can learn more about CADstream's new liver application by attending a CME-accredited online case review, Practical Interpretation of Liver MRI Using CAD, presented by Dr. Jeffrey Maki of University of Washington, Seattle, WA, on December 15, 2009 at 5:30 pm (PT). For more details, visit www.merge.com/cad. This educational event is sponsored by International Center for Postgraduate Medical Education (ICPME) and supported by Bayer Healthcare and Merge CAD.

Merge Healthcare develops solutions that automate healthcare data and diagnostic workflow to enable a better electronic record of the patient experience, and to enhance product development for health IT, device and pharmaceutical companies. Merge products, ranging from standards-based development toolkits to sophisticated clinical applications, have been used by healthcare providers, vendors and researchers worldwide for over 20 years. Additional information can be found at www.merge.com.

*This product is represented as works-in-progress. Merge Healthcare is not legally obligated to develop or continue to develop such works-in-progress that may include the features and functionality described herein.

The matters discussed in this news release may include forward-looking statements, which could involve a number of risks and uncertainties. When used in this press release, the words "will," "believes," "intends," "anticipates," "expects" and similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. Except as expressly required by the federal securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update such factors or to publicly announce the results of any of the forward-looking statements.

Merge Healthcare
Julie Pekarek, Chief Marketing Officer, 414-977-4254
jpekarek@merge.com