For the manufacturers of computer-aided detection products, 2009 was not a good year. For the industry as a whole, revenues dropped 10%, according to "US Markets for Computer-Aided Diagnostic Imaging Products," a report recently issued by the Medtech Insight division of Elsevier Business Intelligence. This was largely due to the economic recession, cost pressures faced by hospitals, and a subsequent squeeze on capital equipment-related products. But for the foreseeable future, the industry is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 11.1% to reach an estimated $185.3 million by the years 2013.

A preview of the emerging health care companies profiled in the current issue of Start-Up. This month's profile group, Protein Manufacturing Start-Ups, features profiles of Chesapeake PERL Inc., Chlorogen Inc., ProteomTech Inc. and Psyche Pharmaceuticals Inc. Plus these Start-Ups Across Health Care: ArgoLink Inc., Confirma Inc., FivePrime Therapeutics Inc. and QuantomiX Ltd.

Confirma Inc. is the first to bring CAD-assisted image processing and interpretation to magnetic resonance imaging. The lead indication for its CADstream platform is breast cancer MRI.