Merge Healthcare began from humble beginnings in 1987 with an invention in a Wisconsin basement. This startup blossomed into a leading medical software company, overcoming scandal along the way. Now over 30 years since its founding, Merge enjoys a new chapter after being acquired for $1 billion to enhance IBM Watson Health.
This is the little-known story of the vision, technology innovation, rapid growth, crisis moments, and eventual success that defined Merge‘s journey to advancing medical imaging.
Overview: Merge Stands the Test of Time by Solving Healthcare‘s Imaging Connectivity Needs
In the 1980s, hospitals were deploying specialized computers and devices for medical imaging, but faced a major challenge – these systems couldn‘t easily connect. Images couldn‘t transfer from CT scanners to workstations to patient health records. Technicians lost hours manually processing film printouts.
Seeing this connectivity gap firsthand, Milwaukee resident William C. Mortimore founded Merge Healthcare in 1987 to deliver a solution. His novel Merge System used software and hardware interfaces to bridge imaging machines from various manufacturers.
This breakthrough allowed healthcare organizations to integrate imaging workflows, save costs and improve care quality. Merge systems quickly gained over 200 hospital customers in just 5 years.
Over the next 25 years, Merge Healthcare grew into a leading medical imaging and healthcare data company:
- 30+ product launches for imaging management, archiving and healthcare data integration
- $200M+ revenue prior to acquisition, serving over 7500 healthcare facilities
- Acquired 20+ companies to complement solutions portfolio
- Survived major 2006 accounting scandal that led to CEO resignation
The need for Merge‘s integration solutions intensified with healthcare‘s shift to electronic records and digital imaging. By 2015, Merge caught the attention of computing giant IBM. It was acquired for $1 billion to form a key part of the IBM Watson Health portfolio.
Now 30 years from its start, Merge Healthcare‘s vision to connect imaging devices has stood the test of time. Its innovative software and deep healthcare data resources propel leading-edge AI capabilities for IBM Watson today.
Merge Healthcare major milestones: From 1987 basement invention to 2015 IBM acquisition
The Founding Vision: Software Pioneer Aims to "Fix the Electronic Plumbing"
Behind Merge Healthcare‘s success was the personal drive and passion of sole founder William C. Mortimore. Hisfriends described him as a persistent problem-solver and natural tinkerer.
Long before forming Merge, Mortimore honed technical skills during naval training and coursework repairing airplane electronics. Later, he operated his own computer services firm. But a role as a radiology technician exposed a whole new problem space.
Mortimore became frustrated seeing staff wasting hours conveying scanned images between isolated machines. He recounted:
"I saw the problem right there in the trenches – what needed to be done. The electronic plumbing had to be fixed."
The basement inventor spent 18 months creating the first Merge Healthcare solution to seamlessly bridge imaging devices from different vendors.
Solving knotty technological problems was Mortimore‘s passion. This vision for easing medical image transfer through better data plumbing drove him to launch Merge at age 47. The people suffering from poor technology compelled him to find a solution.
Merge System: The Breakthrough Software + Hardware for Medical Imaging Connectivity
The key invention enabling Merge Healthcare‘s launch was the Merge System – novel software and hardware to connect otherwise incompatible medical imaging machines.
This worked using three core components:
Universal Merge Software: Contained device drivers for leading scanner systems like GE MRI and Siemens CT
Merge Interface Hardware: Physical electronic black box with ports to join disparate devices
Intelligent Interface Software: Merge software manages bi-directional data transfer between joined systems
By leveraging these elements, healthcare facilities could achieve a fully integrated imaging environment:
![Diagram showing Merge System integrating imaging modalities, printers, archives, EMRs]
Technicians used the Merge software to route medical images from any integrated scanner directly to printers, archives or electronic medical records. The specialized interface handled communicationnuances between makers.
According to administrators at early adopter Chicago Hospital:
"Merge Healthcare‘s breakthrough let our CT and MRI machines talk directly with printers. It was the missing link and saved us hours of work moving images."
By delivering a 10x efficiency gain, the Merge System solved a costly healthcare connectivity challenge that slowed patient care.
Rapid Growth as a Leader in Medical Imaging Software
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