MINNEAPOLIS and LINKOPING, Sweden, Oct. 26, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vital Images, Inc. (Nasdaq:VTAL), a leading provider of advanced visualization and analysis software, and Sectra, one of the world-leading IT and medical-technology companies, deepened their relationship by expanding the advanced visualization solution offered to Sectra's PACS (picture archive and communication system) customers. As part of the expanded partnership, Sectra will offer its customers Vital Images' Vitrea(R) Enterprise Suite as an additional option integrated with Sectra's PACS platform, which will include centralized data management.

Vitrea Enterprise Suite provides Sectra's customers and potential clients with a Web-based advanced visualization solution seamlessly integrated with Sectra PACS. This will allow physicians universal access to a unified platform of advanced applications including cardiac, vascular, neuro, virtual colonoscopy as well as other functionality via the PACS interface.

"We are pleased to expand our relationship with Sectra," said David Hilderbrand, director of international development at Vital Images. "The introduction of Vitrea Enterprise Suite to Sectra's customers and potential clients will provide broad access to deep advance visualization capabilities from a centralized platform, which equates to more efficiency and speed to clinical decisions, thus improved patient care."

"This partnership completes our own volume visualization offering and provides our customers with a full-range solution," says Hans Lugnegard, product manager at Sectra. "We now not only meet the need for high production volume visualization, but also the need for specialized clinical applications across the enterprise."

About Sectra's medical operations

Sectra develops and sells IT-systems and products for radiology, mammography and orthopaedic departments. More than 1,000 hospitals worldwide use the systems daily, together performing over 50 million radiology examinations annually. This makes Sectra one of the world-leading companies within systems for handling digital radiology images. In Scandinavia, Sectra is the market leader with more than 50% of all film-free installations. Sectra's systems have been installed in North America, Scandinavia and most major countries in Europe and the Far East. For more information, visit www.sectra.com/medical

About Vital Images, Inc.

Vital Images, Inc., established in 1988 and headquartered in Minneapolis, is a leading provider of advanced visualization software solutions.