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                                                                   Exhibit 99.1


NEWS RELEASE

             CELERIS CORPORATION NAME CHANGE EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY,
                          TICKER SYMBOL WILL BE "CRSC"

January 29, 1999, Nashville, TN ... Summit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUMT)
today announced that its shareholders have approved its proposal to change the
name of the Company to "Celeris Corporation". The contract research services
company has chosen the name "celeris", which in Latin means swift or agile, to
reflect its mission to provide specialized clinical research services that allow
pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies to bring new products
to market quickly. The name change is effective immediately. Celeris Corporation
will also change its Nasdaq National Market trading symbol to "CRSC" beginning
February 1, 1999.

"We are excited to have completed this next step in our plan to focus on
providing high quality clinical research services. The name "celeris" truly does
reflect our desire to find new ways to help our clients positively impact time
to market," said Barbara Cannon, President & CEO.

Celeris Corporation's service offerings include regulatory consulting and
strategy, medical device evaluation, product and manufacturing quality
assurance, statistical analysis, and clinical study design. In addition, the
Company is expanding its service offerings to include investigative site
selection and qualification, clinical monitoring staffing services, data
management, and biostatistical consulting.

Contact:          Paul R. Johnson
                  Chief Financial Officer
                  615-341-0223




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