Two Significant Milestones for Direct Radiography
Corp.
NEWARK, Del., Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Direct Radiography Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hologic, Inc. (Nasdaq:
HOLX - news), has reached two important milestones in the past few weeks. Direct Radiography Corp. has signed a sales
agreement with a partner in the international medical imaging market and locked in a long-term source of supply for a critical
component of its DirectRay® detector.
The first milestone was achieved in August when Direct Radiography Corp. signed a three-year OEM sales agreement with
E-Com Technology Ltd., Zhuhai, China, to sell DirectRay® detectors in the Chinese market. E-Com is a value-added
distributor and software developer for digital picture archiving and communication systems (PACS). This is the first agreement
Direct Radiography has signed for sales in China and follows an agreement signed in April for the sale of the detectors in Korea
through Dong Kang Trading Company.
''The acquisition of DirectRay® technology is a major step forward in E- COM's strategic plan to build a leadership position
with innovative products, superior technologies and a widely recognized brand name in the expanding Chinese digital imaging
market,'' said Jim Foyles, OEM sales director for Direct Radiography.
News of the agreement to sell detectors in China comes in the wake of previously announced sales of detectors and general
radiographic systems in North America and Europe. The U.S. Health Industry Manufacturers Association estimates that Asian
demand for medical technology is growing 19 percent annually, three times faster than the North American and European
markets.
The second milestone was achieved when Direct Radiography entered into a long-term supply agreement with LG-LCD, a
world leader in the production of thin-film transistor (TFT) arrays, the basic substructure of the firm's DirectRay® flat panel
detector. Direct Radiography coats the LG-LCD TFT arrays with amorphous selenium, an X-ray absorbing material. After
adding customized electronics, the DirectRay® detector can convert X-ray energy directly into electrical signals, producing high
quality radiographic images within seconds that can be electronically displayed, transferred and stored. Commercial quantities of
the LG-LCD arrays have been received and are already being used in making the detectors.
''This agreement is a significant milestone for Direct Radiography because it provides us a new source of high quality TFT
arrays,'' says Bill Carew, vice president of operations for the Delaware manufacturer. ''We can now leverage the knowledge
and expertise of one of the largest TFT suppliers in the world.'' Headquartered in Korea, LG Corporation, parent company of
LG-LCD, is a $73 billion conglomerate with 126,000 employees in over 120 countries.
Based in Newark, Delaware, Direct Radiography Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hologic, Inc., and provides
dose-efficient, high productivity direct-to-digital X-ray image capture systems for the medical and nondestructive testing
markets. The company manufactures DirectRay® digital X-ray technology and markets that technology in their own line of fully
integrated radiographic systems and as a digital upgrade for existing X-ray equipment. Direct Radiography also supplies
DirectRay® technology as a component for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to incorporate into their own products.
Headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, Hologic, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets proprietary X-ray and ultrasound
systems. With more than 7,500 installations worldwide, the company's QDR® and ultrasound bone densitometers are used for
the assessment of bone density to assist in the diagnosis and monitoring of metabolic bone diseases such as osteoporosis. |
