February 9, 2012 — Healthcare imaging specialist Barco announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire U.K.-based JAOtech, a manufacturer of patient entertainment and point-of-care terminals for hospitals. The acquisition fits within Barco's long-term vision of increasing healthcare efficiency and its growth strategy of expanding into multiple healthcare segments. With the JAOtech terminals and associated software, Barco builds a strong position in the fast growing point of care (POC) segment in healthcare.
“Today's hospitals set extremely high standards when it comes to patient care and comfort. However, a fast growing and ageing population calls for major efforts from hospitals and staff to continue to operate efficiently. For that reason, hospitals need advanced technologies that help improve workflow and hospital productivity,” said Eric Van Zele, Barco's president and CEO. “JAOtech's patient bedside Smart Terminals offer both clinical and entertainment services to help increase hospital efficiency, in addition to giving patients a more comfortable stay.”
JAOtech designs and manufactures medical-grade Smart Terminals for bedside applications. Products include an ergonomic range of mounting solutions and accessories, such as medical keyboards, arms and wall boxes. The advanced terminals are fully customizable and feature a host of modular options such as barcode scanners, smart card and RFID readers. Partners are provided with specialist software drivers to enable the system solution to integrate seamlessly with the hospital information system (HIS) providing healthcare staff with secure access to electronic medical records (EMR) and vital patient information. Patients are presented with an array of education and entertainment tools, such as TV, radio and access to e-mail and the Internet.
“We are very pleased to become a member of the Barco family,” said Warren Kressinger-Dunn, CEO of JAOtech. “Hospitals around the world are starting to consider the enormous potential of patient bedside entertainment and communication systems. This agreement allows us to capitalize on Barco's leading position in the healthcare industry, which will definitely help us to expand our reach in the marketplace and become a world player in healthcare.”
For more information: www.barco.com, www.jaotech.com
January 25, 2018 
