This is a old old news in Augest 21st, 1997.
EGG stock back down to Augest level, no any Digital x-ray since then, looks to me that it is not a threat to Aurora !
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GE and EG&G Sign Collaboration Pact to Produce Digital X-Ray Detectors; $100 Million R&D Effort Creates Breakthrough in X-Ray Technology
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- GE Medical Systems today announced the signing of an agreement providing EG&G, Inc. (NYSE:EGG), exclusive rights to manufacture a first-of-its-kind multi-purpose digital x-ray detector that has the potential for better, faster, and more cost- effective x-ray examinations for patients.
The new system replaces conventional x-ray film and chemicals with computer images that can be stored electronically or sent anywhere in the world via telecommunications technology.
GE Medical Systems President and CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt and EG&G Chairman and CEO John M. Kucharski called the new detector ''potentially one of the most significant x-ray technology advances of the past 25 years.''
The detector, designed and developed by GE, will be the basis for a whole new family of GE medical products that produce x-ray images of the breast, chest, heart, blood vessels, bone and abdomen without film. These products will be complemented by a full portfolio of medical image networking and archiving offerings from GE.
''Digital is the future of x-ray imaging,'' Immelt said. ''The GE detector is designed to make possible filmless images that can be quickly transmitted anywhere to allow doctors to see and consult on a patient's case,'' he added.
''Our goal is to put more information in the hands of physicians to speed diagnosis and ultimately improve patient care,'' Immelt emphasized.
Kucharski said, ''Amorphous silicon technology is the foundation of the GE detector, and is the single largest R&D project in EG&G's history. This technology offers clear advantages for medical imaging as well as for industrial applications such as non-destructive testing.''
GE Senior Vice President for Corporate R&D Lewis S. (Lonnie) Edelheit said that the new detector is designed ''to change the game in x-ray imaging.
''The digital detector is the product of one of GE's biggest and most long- range R&D efforts ever. Its 10-year, $100-million development has involved more than 100 scientists and engineers and resulted in nearly 80 patents,'' Edelheit said.
''This technology gives us the unique ability to make full-size detectors in one piece, which differs significantly from other approaches that combine several smaller detectors to make a large one,'' Edelheit said. ''Detectors based on GE's large-area technology will serve the whole spectrum of x-ray applications from mammography and radiography to real-time fluoroscopy and angiography,'' he added.
The new digital technology offers a number of important features, including:
elimination of film and processing chemicals electronic images with no film-processing delays electronic archiving to eliminate the issue of lost films remote diagnosis using digital communications potential for computer-aided detection -- to provide radiologists
another set of ''eyes'' in reviewing images
Clinical Investigations
According to Immelt, investigational x-ray systems based on the new detector are currently being evaluated in clinical mammography and radiography trials at five U.S. hospitals with five additional testing sites planned. Systems using the new detector are currently limited to investigational use in the U.S.
Current mammography trial sites include Massachusetts General Hospital, the hospitals of the University of Massachusetts and University of Colorado, and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Additional mammography sites are planned for the National Naval Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and the University of South Florida.
''In preliminary trials, the prototype digital mammography system is producing quality images and with all the benefits of digital,'' said Dr. Daniel Kopans, Director of the Breast Imaging Division at Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School.
In addition, digital radiography trials are currently under way with Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Milwaukee, and other systems will soon be installed at Duke University Medical Center, the National Naval Medical Center, and Stanford University.
Immelt pointed out that a cardiac system based on the GE detector also is in development, and a preliminary clinical trial is ongoing at the Mayo Clinic. Cardiac systems are used primarily to image blood flow in and around the heart.
EG&G will manufacture the new detectors in a new 74,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art production facility in Santa Clara, Calif. At full production it will be able to fabricate more than 10,000 panels per year.
''This is one of the most sophisticated technological challenges ever undertaken by GE, and EG&G was selected as our production partner because of its ability to deliver the precise quality needed,'' Immelt said. ''EG&G's high-tech processing expertise has accelerated our prototype development by at least a year.''
GE Medical Systems is a leading global manufacturer of diagnostic imaging equipment and services. GE Medical Systems has annual sales of approximately $4 billion and employs more than 15,000 people worldwide. EG&G, Inc., is a global technology company that provides complete systems, as well as components, to the automotive, medical, aerospace, photographic, and other industries. Based in Wellesley, Mass., EG&G has annual sales of more than $1.4 billion, and more than 14,000 employees.
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Regards,
Roland
geocities.com
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