VIDA is both the word “Life” in Spanish and an acronym representing the core mission of our software “Volumetric Image Display and Analysis.” The initial inspiration for the company began 30 years ago when Dr. Eric Hoffman introduced three-dimensional X-ray imaging techniques for the assessment of the lung, in conjunction with Mayo Clinic's ground-breaking Dynamic Spatial Reconstructor. His vision was to utilize the wealth of density information embedded in three-dimensional radiological images to add quantitative, repeatable diagnostic metrics to the visual interpretation of scan images and to provide the link between structure and function.

Susan A. Wood, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Wood has 14 years of experience championing innovative clinical solutions to the marketplace, from concept to revenue.

Dr. Wood most recently held the position of executive Vice President of Marketing and Technology for Vital Images, an innovative software company specializing in cardiovascular applications for advanced analysis software.  Prior to Vital Images, Dr. Wood spent eight years at R2 Technology, most recently serving as VP of Marketing, where she championed the development, regulatory approval and commercial release of the first FDA approved (PMA) software product for the automatic detection of lung nodules in both diagnostic and screening chest CT examinations.  She worked for three years at medical imaging software developer ISG Technologies (now Cedara Software), where she served as director of marketing for platform products and multimodality workstations.

Dr, Wood received her Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, School of Hygiene and public health.  Her Ph.D. work combined quantifying three-dimensional lung structure with changes in lung function using high-resolution CT imaging.  She also holds a Master of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University, and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park.  She is considered a thought leader in the area of computer-aided detection and diagnosis.

Dr. Wood has been issued 6 patents in the field of computer-aided detection and quantitative imaging, authored numerous book chapters, peer-reviewed papers, abstracts, and served as an invited speaker at numerous conferences in the area of three-dimensional imaging of the thorax, quantitative imaging and computer-aided detection. 

Michael Sims, Chairman

Currently the CEO of nSpire Medical Products, Mr. Sims is a leader in the pulmonary function test and clinical trials management business. He is a 20-year veteran of the medical imaging industry, having served most recently as CEO of IMADENT, an early stage dental imaging systems manufacturer, and CEO of Ultraguide, a surgical guidance device manufacturer. Prior to Ultraguide, Sims served as Vice President and head of the CT Products group at Marconi Medical Systems.

Juerg Tschirren, Director of Engineering

Dr. Juerg Tschirren has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Iowa. He is the inventor of many of the techniques used in Pulmonary Workstation 2.