VIENNA, Austria and SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. and NVIDIA Corporation announced during the European Congress of Radiology in Vienna, Austria, the first results of Mercury’s partnership with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), in which Mercury greatly reduced the image reconstruction time for the 3D mammography technique developed by MGH from five hours to five minutes - a 60x performance increase using NVIDIA(R) technology.
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Traditional mammography imaging relies on 2D X-ray images in which growths can be obscured and undetected. Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) reconstructs a 3D-volume from a series of 2D projection images taken over an arc of 50 degrees. With DBT, physicians can “page through” the interior of the breast without the superimposition of the other tissues.
The DBT method involves vast amounts of computation, which previously took far too long to be clinically viable. Mercury engineers worked with the Breast Imaging Division at MGH to enhance its innovative technique using Mercury image processing expertise and mathematical optimizations, greatly reducing the image processing time and preserving high-image clarity. Combined with a unique image processing solution that uses enhanced NVIDIA Quadro(R) professional graphics processor technology, Mercury achieved unprecedented image reconstruction results.
“DBT will enable physicians to find more cancers earlier, while simultaneously it will reduce many of the false alarms that occur using conventional mammography,” said Dr. Daniel B. Kopans, Director of the Breast Imaging Division at MGH. “This will reduce the overall cost of breast cancer screening while improving its accuracy. Moreover, the DBT technique will eliminate the need for patients to endure additional examination time or X-ray doses.”
According to the latest American Cancer Society statistics, one woman in every seven will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Early detection using screening mammography has been scientifically shown to reduce the death rate by 30%. In the United States, the death rate from breast cancer has dropped 20% in the last decade, largely due to widespread use of conventional screening mammography. Building on these successes, DBT’s superior ability to display lesions that can be obscured in conventional mammography could increase the chance of early detection and an even further reduced death rate.
As part of its strategic alliance announced in November 2004, Mercury is working with NVIDIA, a leading provider of graphics and digital media processors, to innovate and deliver cost-effective 3D image processing solutions for the life sciences markets. “NVIDIA is very enthusiastic about partnering with Mercury on the leading edge of enhancing this image processing technology for commercial application,” said Jeff Brown, general manager of professional products at NVIDIA. “Our alliance enables us to collaborate with Mercury on potentially life-saving medical applications.”
Mercury and MGH are working to move the DBT imaging technique from the laboratory to widespread clinical use, and are continuing their collaboration to improve cancer detection and diagnosis.
“Mercury is proud to be an integral part of this innovative solution for breast cancer detection, which enables doctors to detect breast cancer earlier and with greater accuracy than ever before, and thus give peace of mind to patients and their families,” said Marcelo Lima, vice president of Life Sciences, Imaging and Visualization Solutions, Mercury Computer Systems.
For more information, visit Mercury in Expo A, booth #122, at the European Congress of Radiology March 4-8 in Vienna, Austria, or visit lifesciences.mc.com.
About Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.
Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. is the leading provider of high-performance embedded, real-time digital signal and image processing solutions. Mercury’s solutions play a critical role in a wide range of applications, transforming sensor data to information for analysis and interpretation. In military reconnaissance and surveillance platforms the Company’s systems process real-time radar, sonar, and signals intelligence data. Mercury’s systems are also used in state-of-the-art medical diagnostic imaging devices including MRI, CT, PET, and digital X-ray, and in semiconductor imaging applications including photomask generation and wafer inspection. Mercury provides advanced 3D image processing and visualization software and optimized systems to diverse end markets including life sciences, geosciences, and simulation. The Company also provides radio frequency (RF) products for enhanced communications capabilities in military and commercial applications.
Based in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Mercury serves customers in North America, Europe and Asia through its direct sales force and a network of subsidiaries and distributors. Visit Mercury on the web at http://www.mc.com/.
About NVIDIA
NVIDIA Corporation is a worldwide leader in graphics and digital media processors. The Company’s products enhance the end-user experience on consumer and professional computing devices. NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs), media and communications processors (MCPs), and wireless media processors (WMPs) have broad market reach and are incorporated into a variety of platforms, including consumer and enterprise PCs, notebooks, workstations, PDAs, mobile phones, and video game consoles. NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, California and employs more than 2,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the Company’s Web site at http://www.nvidia.com/.
About Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital, established in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The MGH conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, with an annual research budget of more than $450 million and major research centers in AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer, cutaneous biology, medical imaging, neurodegenerative disorders, transplantation biology and photomedicine.
In 1994, MGH and Brigham and Women’s Hospital joined to form Partners HealthCare System, an integrated health care delivery system comprising the two academic medical centers, specialty and community hospitals, a network of physician groups, and non-acute and home health services. Visit http://www.massgeneral.org/ for more information.
Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including those relating to the Mercury work in collaboration with the Massachusetts General Hospital and NVIDIA Corporation. You can identify these statements by our use of the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “plans,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “continue,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general economic and business conditions, effects of continued geo-political unrest and regional conflicts, competition, changes in technology, delays in completing engineering and manufacturing programs, continued success in technological advances and delivering technological innovations, shortages in components, and production delays. These risks and uncertainties also include such additional risk factors as are discussed in the Company’s recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2004. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made.
NVIDIA Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements in this press release including, but not limited to, the role of NVIDIA technology in cancer detection and reduced death rate, the benefits of the strategic alliance, the commercial development of technology covered in this press release and the development of life-saving medical applications as a result of the NVIDIA strategic alliance with Mercury are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than expectations. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, delays in ramping new products into production, manufacturing defects, incompatibility of technologies, reliance on third-party manufacturers, prohibitive expense of developing products for commercial application, increased rate of cancer despite use of early detection equipment, delays in integration of NVIDIA products, the impact of competitive products and pricing alternatives, and other risks detailed from time to time in the NVIDIA reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 24, 2004. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. NVIDIA disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Contact: Kathy Donahue, Public Relations Manager Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. 978-967-1126 David Higham, Professional Products PR Manager NVIDIA Corporation (408) 486-8287
NVIDIA and NVIDIA Quadro are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the United States and other countries. Other product and company names mentioned may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
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CONTACT: Kathy Donahue, Public Relations Manager of Mercury ComputerSystems, Inc., +1-978-967-1126; or David Higham, Professional Products PRManager of NVIDIA Corporation, +1-408-486-8287
Web site: http://www.nvidia.com/http://www.mc.com/