Access Radiology Grabs $5M Third Round

Access Radiology Corp., a Lexington, Mass.-based electronic radiology image distribution company, held a $5 million close May 17 on its third round of venture funding.

Zero Stage Capital of Cambridge, Mass., committed $1 million as the sole new investor in the round. Existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Delphi Ventures, Pacific Venture Group and Seaflower Associates committed the balance of the offering, said Gary Lortie, chief financial officer at Access Radiology.

Access has sought to capitalize on the growing competition in the radiology industry by providing tools to the increasing numbers of consolidated practices, as well as installing its product in discrete hospital units. The company has developed and received Food and Drug Administration approval on its image delivery system, which delivers an image that is clear enough to be used for an evaluation.

In the past, when physicians referred a patient to a radiologist the process would take several steps between getting the patient to the radiologist, delivering the film back to the referring physician and scheduling a follow-up visit to the referring physician after the radiologist studied the film and filed the report. Access can deliver images to those involved in the process, thereby reducing the extra work at either end.

Access also employs teleradiology, which delivers the image over the wire into a non-hospital area. The radiologist can be beeped simultaneously in order to permit improved response time, said Mark Thaller, vice president at Zero Stage.

“These are IT tools that enable efficiency among these groups,” Lortie said.

One portion of the proceeds was used immediately to fund Access’ acquisition of EMED from Raytheon Corp. Lortie said EMED, which had been a competitor of Access, brings access to a significant base of installed systems as well as a large distribution channel to his company through the acquisition. The remainder of the new capital has been set aside for working capital.