A battle between two image processing companies that should have ended this summer seems to be heating up.

Last week, the Swedish image enhancement software company, ContextVision, issued a press release stating that Sapheneia Commercial Products filed for bankruptcy on Aug. 28, and that former employees of the company, who created Sapheneia in 2006, wrongfully declared themselves inventors of a patent application. A statement, released Tuesday by Sapheneia, said that this information is misleading, and that the company's full product line is available to customers.

According to ContextVision, on July 12, the Stockholm District Court ruled that ContextVision is the real owner of the patent application. The court also ruled that Sapheneia Commerical Products should pay the legal costs to ContextVision.
The official website of the Swedish Company Registration Authority "Bolagsverket" confirmed that Sapheneia Commercial Products filed for bankruptcy.

"We have realized that Sapheneia appears to be insolvent, but we regard the bankruptcy as a way to escape responsibility. The receiver is now investigating the situation to see what values remain in the company," said Anita Tollstadius, CEO of ContextVision, in the press release. Tollstadius would not comment further about the case to DOTmed News.

But according to Saphaneia, the company is alive and well. Saphaneia Inc. was created this summer, according to Paul Stashick, the company's new CEO. Stashick is also a co-owner and a board member of Saphaneia and has been an adviser to the company since the fall of 2012. He said Sapheneia Commercial Products, which has been dissolved, is unrelated to the new company, Saphaneia Inc.

"These are unrelated entities [and lawsuits] not involved in the new parent company and it doesn't jeopardize our software or what we do, "Stashick told DOTmed News.

The patent dispute is over Saphaneia's Clarity product lines. Stashick said Sapheneia Inc. is the owner of the intellectual property and all Clarity product lines, including the new Clarity CT PLUS, which will be released later this fall.

Stashick also said that Saphaneia will have strong sales through the fourth quarter due to new product launches and new OEM contracts.

"We have multiple new product launches scheduled for this fall in the lead-up to the RSNA show... We've also just executed two major ultrasound OEM contracts and expect a strong finish to 2013 to provide the foundation for continued growth into the 2014 fiscal year. In particular, as the Obama health care plan ramps up, our products are perfectly aligned to reduce cost, deliver better outcomes and improve safety for patients and health care professionals," said Stashick.

Saphaneia Inc. calls itself the first non-OEM company created and dedicated to radiation dose reduction through image quality.

Stashick said Saphaneia Commercial Products was turned into a holding company when the first lawsuit broke out with ContextVision. It was parked as a holding company going forward with no assets, which is why it has been dissolved.

"When we created Saphaneia Inc. this summer, obviously we weren't going to take a company with no assets and which had no operating income since 2009," said Stashick.

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