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Agfa HealthCare is the recipient of the 2009 Market Penetration Leadership Award for the Brazilian Computed Reader (CR) Market

Frost & Sullivan recently announced that Agfa HealthCare is the recipient of the 2009 Market Penetration Leadership Award for the Brazilian Computed Reader (CR) Market. Agfa offers a complete portfolio of solutions including digital and computed radiography, and it has successfully penetrated the Brazilian CR market, as perceived by the needs of customers willing to enter in the digital era.

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As a new corporate strategy the company is currently targeting medium-size institutions that value quality, but have limited budgets or volume of procedures. To attend such demand, Agfa adapted its portfolio in order to offer a wider range of CR solutions and customized products to better fit customers' needs, which may vary in terms of number of radiography rooms and volume of annual procedures. So far such strategy resulted in higher revenues for the company that doubled units sold from 2007 to 2008.

"Brazilian end-users are going towards the digital era mainly through computed-based radiography systems. It is a cost-effective solution to digitize images, replacing films by installing CR readers into their current analog equipment," remarks Frost & Sullivan's Research Analyst Luisa Woge. Computed readers eliminate the need for the dark room, films, chemicals, thus saving on cost of supplies, whilst also greatly cutting down the time-consuming process of film development and retrieval.

In Brazil, the adoption of CR gained more strength from 2005, reaching its peak in 2008. During this period, Agfa has prepared its sales force in a program aimed at showing healthcare institutions the benefits CRs would bring to their radiography rooms: productivity and quality improvements and cost reductions. Moreover, the adoption of CRs supports the integration of the radiology department through the implementation of PACS and RIS, a remarkable step for hospitals in Brazil.

As the cost of digital radiography (DR) systems heavily outweighs the cost of computed readers, Brazilian hospitals have been adopting CR systems as a step towards digital radiography. "Agfa has headed this transition process in Brazil and it owns the leadership of the CR segment as it is perceived to have the best customer value versus price ratio," explains Woge.

Also, Agfa adopted a product strategy, positioning its CR in the high-end niche, offering premium maintenance and post sales services to demanding clients. Technical support requires a well trained team, prepared to maintain high performance of equipments. "Due to its experience in diagnostic imaging and its ability to pioneer in the development of IT solutions, Agfa has demonstrated its capacity to support its customers in the challenge of moving from analog to digital solutions," observes Woge.

Taking advantage of its IT expertise, Agfa provides totally integrated solutions to its clients. These bring workflow gains and provide vital patient information to radiologists and health professionals and ultimately enhance quality of care, procedures, speed and management effectiveness.

For the successful strategy adopted, Frost & Sullivan confers upon Agfa HealthCare its prestigious award for Market Penetration Leadership.

About the Award

The Frost & Sullivan Market Penetration Leadership Award is presented each year to the company that has demonstrated excellence in capturing market share within their industry. The recipient has demonstrated strategic excellence in product innovation, marketing, and sales strategies that have resulted in the largest gain in market share over the past 2-3 years. To choose the recipient of this Award, the analyst team tracks market share gain, increase in sales, and brand awareness efforts within the industry. This is accomplished through interviews with market participants, end-user studies, and extensive secondary research.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best in class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 35 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com.

Source: Agfa HealthCare