Hologic/Lorad

Hologic will highlight a work-in-progress breast tomosynthesis package available for use with the Lorad FFDM unit, Selenia, as well as a new agreement to sell, install, and service R2 Technology products.

Breast tomosynthesis is a technique that allows for an arbitrary number of planar images to be produced retrospectively from an initial set of projection images acquired at different x-ray tube orientations. With the package under development -- which includes hardware and software -- a full volume of data can be produced at a dose equivalent to conventional film-screen or digital mammography imaging, according to the company.

Hologic, of Bedford, MA, signed an agreement with R2 in August for the development of a customized digital version of ImageChecker for Selenia. The company expects the new version to be available in early 2004. Hologic will market a full range of R2 products, including analog, analog to digital, and digital CAD systems.

In bone densitometry, Hologic will demonstrate QDR Mobility, an osteoporosis assessment tool that will allow physicians to receive BMD studies and generate reports without the use of a conventional network. Finally, the company hopes to have FDA clearance this month for Explorer, an entry-level fan-beam bone densitometry system.