Carestream Health
Digital radiography, mobile DR, and dental imaging — spun off from Eastman Kodak's Health Group in 2007 when Onex Corporation acquired Kodak's health division. Manufacturing and R&D heritage dates to Kodak's century-plus of medical X-ray film and CR phosphor imaging. Privately held; current focus narrowed to imaging hardware after divesting healthcare IT in 2020.
Company history
- 2007 — Kodak Health Group sold to Onex Corporation for $2.35 billion; renamed Carestream Health.
- 2010s — DRX wireless detector platform extends across the room and mobile portfolio.
- 2020 — divests the enterprise imaging informatics business (Vue PACS, RIS, VNA) to Philips; focuses remaining business on radiography hardware and dental.
- 2020s — fixed and mobile DR core, CS dental imaging, with selected industrial / non-destructive-testing X-ray adjacencies.
Product line
- Fixed DR — DRX-Revolution rooms, DRX-Compass, DRX-Evolution Plus (large-volume hospital workflow), Image Suite chiropractic / podiatric variants.
- Mobile DR — DRX-Revolution mobile, DRX-Revolution Nano (lightweight powered cart), DRX-Excel.
- Dental imaging — CS 8100 (panoramic), CS 9600 cone-beam + panoramic, CS 9300 family on the legacy side.
- Legacy CR — Directview systems + phosphor imaging plates; large installed base in lower-tier hospitals globally and a continued niche where DR conversion economics don't pencil.
- Non-destructive testing / industrial — Carestream's non-medical X-ray division (industrial film, computed radiography, imaging plates).
Distinctive technology
- DRX wireless detector platform — DRX detectors are cross-compatible across Carestream room and mobile systems. Inventory fungibility is a meaningful operational win for hospitals running mixed Carestream fleets.
- Long-length imaging — scoliosis / long-leg with automated stitching on DRX-Evolution / Compass.
- ImageView / SmartLink acquisition workflow.
- Smart Noise Cancellation / Tube and Line Visualization AI on current console software for ICU portable workflow.
Market position
Mid-tier DR supplier globally. Strong share in the DR upgrade market for hospitals replacing CR — that historical CR-to-DR conversion arc favored Carestream's installed base. Not a top-three DR vendor versus GE, Siemens, Philips, or Fujifilm in premium hospital DR rooms, but competitive in mid-market and price-sensitive segments and in dental imaging.
Refurb posture
- DRX detectors are widely available on the refurb market and broadly cross-compatible — a strength on Carestream-fleet sites and a value-floor on isolated room sales.
- CR-era hardware — Directview systems are still in service in many sites; refurb / parts supply is mature but no longer growing.
- Dental CS units turn over on the same dental-practice cycle as Planmeca / Dentsply Sirona; software-version status drives price.