This is a great article. With the rampant acquisition of smaller companies by larger ones that is common in the healthcare IT industry, and the inevitable slowing or death of product innovation and organizational momentum when they merge (read as: are absorbed), it is very useful to know why this happens.
On a related note, if you are interested in start-ups vs. established corporate vendors, check out my article on Where to Build It?.
Don K Dennison 
It would be interesting to do a retrospective study on startup acquisitions in the medical imaging industry to see what the expected vs actual result was. You don’t have to look very far to find customers that felt like the spirit was lost after an acquisition and become frustrated with the lack of innovation. Having lead innovation projects in both startup (Stentor, OnPoint) and established companies (Vital Images) I can say that innovation is never easy but the challenges you face are quite different. With the web finally coming to medical imaging, I believe we are on the verge of a new era of innovation that will require those making business decisions to be much closer to the technology than they have in the past. The industry is also ripe for some disruptive business models that can provide lower cost solutions more in line with declining reimbursements as well as the continuing drive towards IT based purchasing decisions.