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Kodak Digital Advances Enhance Experiences at XX Olympic Winter Games


WEBWIRE

Security Accreditation, Health Imaging, Digital Photography and Onsite Printing

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Feb. 1 -- Long before the Olympic flame lights the skies at the Opening Ceremonies for the XX Olympic Winter Games here, Kodak digital imaging technologies will be in place to fuel the security, photojournalism, and health care needs of thousands of Olympic participants.

As the Official Imaging Sponsor of the Olympic Winter Games, taking place February 10-26, 2006 in Torino, Kodak brings its most advanced imaging technologies to Torino. These include scanning and imaging technologies used to create security badges; radiology and dental imaging technology to help diagnose and treat athletes’ injuries; onsite image-rich printing and publishing services; and support for thousands of photojournalists capturing the drama of the Olympic Winter Games using digital photography.

“The Olympic Winter Games captivate people from around the world, and offer a rare opportunity to showcase athletes, professionals and enthusiasts through Kodak’s digital imaging prowess,” said Antonio M. Perez, Kodak Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Kodak’s role – dating back to the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 – has been to help people capture, share, and protect their images. Kodak’s digital technologies in Torino enable us to do exactly that.”

Accreditation: security badges by Kodak

With security an international concern, Kodak document imaging technologies will produce some 300,000 security badges and 60,000 visa credentials required for athletes, officials, volunteers, and sponsors at the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games. Each credential will be produced in a record-breaking time of just 10 seconds. Using a bank of KODAK Digital Science Color Scanners 3590C, a team of eight Kodak technicians will capture Olympic participants’ personal information from paper applications. The data will then be merged with each applicant’s digital photo to create an electronic record, and security credentials will be produced.

“Kodak’s ability to repurpose data through our scanning technologies will help streamline the enormous task of producing all accreditation badges for some 300,000 athletes, coaches, sponsors, contractors, volunteers, and security personnel,” said Kodak’s James Langley, president, Graphics Communications Group, and a senior vice president. “Virtually everyone who takes part in the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games except spectators will wear a security badge created with Kodak technology.”

About 75 KODAK EASYSHARE digital cameras will be used to photograph each applicant. Credentials will be printed using the KODAK PROFESSIONAL ML-500 Digital Photo Printers and professional thermal media. In addition, 50 KODAK 8660 thermal printers will be networked and placed at 23 remote sites around the Olympic venues to use in replacing lost credentials for Olympic participants.

Medical imaging and communications at Olympic Winter Games

Throughout the Torino region, Kodak Health Group products will support staff in three area medical facilities: a central polyclinic in Torino, a second polyclinic in Sestriere, and a remote satellite facility in Bardonecchia. Should athletes face major injuries, their injuries will be examined using state-of-the-art medical imaging information technologies, including:

* Two KODAK DIRECTVIEW DR 9000 Systems that capture patient x-ray images digitally in seconds.
* One KODAK DIRECTVIEW CR 975 System and two CR 850 systems that quickly and easily deliver exceptional image quality. The CR 975 is Kodak’s top-of-the-line, multi-cassette computed radiography (CR) digital capture system.
* KODAK CARESTREAM RIS (radiology information system) for managing the diagnostic exam process, and enabling fast and efficient storage, distribution and on-demand retrieval of a patient’s entire radiology record to authorized users within the three interconnected polyclinics.
* KODAK CARESTREAM PACS (picture archiving and communications system) for secure and immediate viewing of web-based, digital medical images and critical healthcare information by physicians and radiologists on special high-resolution monitors. Kodak’s PACS also provides CD production capabilities to allow a flexible output of patient information to meet referring physicians’ needs.
* KODAK DRYVIEW Laser Imaging Systems for printing of digital x-ray exams to radiographic film for sharing with referring physicians or for archival purposes.
* KODAK CARESTREAM Hosted Information Management (HIM) for remote archiving of patient data and medical images in the Secure Data Center of Albacom in Milano, Italy to securely safeguard patient information.

Approximately 800 medical imaging exams will be conducted by 15 volunteer radiologists and 21 radiographers at three polyclinics during the Olympic Winter Games. Kodak will have more than 20 specialists and applications consultants on site to support these healthcare professionals during 34 days of operations of the polyclinics.

When the Olympic Winter Games conclude, the equipment Kodak is providing to the three polyclinics will remain in Italy and will be transferred to local healthcare organizations by the Torino Olympic Games Organizing Committee (TOROC).

“We are fortunate to have the most advanced medical imaging technologies from Kodak available in the Polyclinics at the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games,” said Dr. Patrick Schamasch, medical director of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). “With these diagnostic systems, we can quickly and accurately evaluate most athletes’ injuries, and determine the best course of treatment.”

In addition, a staff of 28 dental professionals will use KODAK digital imaging equipment and film for intraoral and extraoral dental exams. In the Polyclinics, intraoral examinations will be conducted using KODAK RVG 6000 Digital Radiography Systems that capture and display images of teeth on a computer monitor to assist in diagnoses and treatment. Polyclinics are a source of dental care for athletes worldwide.

Kevin J. Hobert, President, Kodak’s Health Group, said: “In some cases, Kodak technology could make the difference in an athlete staying at the Games and competing, rather than returning home. The medical and dental imaging technologies we are supplying to the Torino Games signify a major advancement in the level of patient care provided to Olympic athletes.”
Kodak to operate the world’s largest digital photo center for journalists

The Kodak Image Center, a 20,000 square-foot facility within the Main Press Center, will provide digital photographic products and services, and traditional film, to accredited professional photographers. Kodak will digitally manage 100% of an estimated 3 million images to be processed through the Image Center, enabling photographers and photo editors to share these memorable moments via high-speed Internet connections with editors, producers, and audiences worldwide.

Kodak will also provide photojournalists with on-site image-rich output, producing thermal and inkjet prints, postcards and poster-sized prints of Olympic images for display purposes at a variety of hospitality and work areas throughout Torino.

Showcasing Kodak’s Graphic Communications business, several digital printing technologies will be employed in an on-site production center. A Kodak NEXPRESS 2100 plus digital color production press will be installed to produce on-demand, full-color materials for such organizations as Getty Images. In addition, KODAK 1200i large-format inkjet printers will produce large digital posters, as well as smaller commemorative posters with images from the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games’ opening and closing ceremonies.

In addition, technical experts will be available in the Image Center to assist photojournalists in retrieving image files from digital memory cards.

“From this global imaging center, images of the Olympic Winter Games can be downloaded, edited, printed, and transmitted to every corner of the globe,” Langley said. “Kodak’s broad range of graphic communications solutions enables us to help publishers and printers, as well as photojournalists, create and distribute their best work faster than ever before.”

Kodak’s on-site digital experience for Olympic fans and guests

Olympic fans can print, share, and store their Olympic memories at the Kodak “store within a store,” a dedicated section of the larger Olympic SuperStore. In the Kodak section, a wide range of KODAK EASYSHARE Digital Cameras and Printer Docks, an island of several KODAK Picture Maker G4 kiosks for digital printing, one-time-use cameras and other photographic accessories will be available.

“When a spectator has a full memory card in his or her digital camera, a KODAK Picture Maker kiosk can be used to burn those pictures to a KODAK Picture CD, and the user can leave with their archived pictures in minutes, ready to take more pictures,” said Phil Faraci, president of Kodak’s Consumer Digital Imaging Group and senior vice president. “They can also use our online photo service, the KODAK EasyShare Gallery, to securely share their digital photos with friends and family around the world.”

Olympic fans ready to try digital photography will find a selection of KODAK EASYSHARE digital cameras, including the all-new KODAK EASYSHARE V570 camera, which offers the industry’s first dual-lens technology for both ultra-wide-angle and zoom-lens photography. Photo enthusiasts may also purchase Kodak films, one-time-use cameras, batteries, memory cards, and printer docks at this facility.

In addition to the main store in the Olympic SuperStore, Kodak products and services will be available at three retail locations in the Olympic Villages in Torino and mountain locations.

“The Olympic Winter Games bring out the best in all of us – competitors, families, volunteers, and thousands of behind-the-scenes participants in Torino,” Perez said. “Kodak is proud to sponsor and support the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games, and welcomes the opportunity to demonstrate the many ways our offerings enhance all participants’ Olympic moments.”
For more information, visit: http://www.kodak.com/go/olympic
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