SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- R2 Technology, Inc., the leader in computer aided detection (CAD) technology for the earlier detection of breast cancer and other medical conditions, today announced it has signed a new, three-year agreement with Consorta, Inc., a leading healthcare resource management and group purchasing organization, based in Schaumburg, Ill. The dual-source agreement designates R2 as a CAD system provider -- offering its ImageChecker(R) mammography and CT Lung CAD products -- for Consorta's shareholders, which include more than 2,400 care sites across the country, representing more than 78,000 patient beds nationwide. R2 has been a CAD provider to Consorta for the previous three years and is the only such company to maintain this status.
"CAD is increasingly used by radiologists to help in the earlier detection of breast cancer and other conditions, such as lung cancer," said Dan Ingram, Director, Imaging Services, Consorta. "By including R2's ImageChecker(R) CAD systems in our offerings, we are providing our shareholders with advanced technologies that will benefit both the communities and patients that our shareholders serve."
"Consorta is a highly-respected healthcare organization and we are pleased to continue to grow our productive relationship in order to help ensure that more patients nationwide have access to R2's leading CAD technology," said John Pavlidis, R2's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We look forward to continuing to provide innovative CAD solutions that serve the evolving clinical, workflow and technology needs of Consorta's extensive shareholder base."
R2's ImageChecker system was the first CAD system approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use with film-based mammography in 1998 and for digital mammography in 2001. Since 1998, the company has received multiple supplemental approvals for technological and clinical advances and owns or has exclusive worldwide rights in more than 120 issued and pending patents. To date, more than 2000 ImageChecker CAD systems have been shipped worldwide and this year approximately nine million women will have their mammograms interpreted with the aid of R2's leading CAD technology. Five independent prospective clinical studies* from academic and community practices showed that the use of R2's mammography CAD resulted in 6.6 percent to 19.5 percent more cancers detected.
R2 Technology's ImageChecker CT Lung CAD system (Version 2.0), with its AutoPoint(TM) automatic temporal comparison feature, assists in the review of multi-slice CT (MSCT) chest exams to help maximize physician accuracy and efficiency in detecting actionable lung nodules early and tracking their size changes over time. An independent clinical study* showed that in 23 percent of MSCT chest exams originally read as having no actionable nodules, the ImageChecker CT CAD System detected nodules of clinical significance. Version 2.0 also enables CAD results to be sent to PACS systems using standard formats for enterprise-wide accessibility. In addition, the company's Pulmonary Artery Patency Exam (PE(TM)) tool uses CAD technology to help physicians in the earlier detection of potential pulmonary artery obstructions, or "filling defects," such as emboli or tumors, during review of MSCT exams.
About Consorta, Inc.
Consorta, based in suburban Chicago, is a leading healthcare resource management and group purchasing organization whose shareholders are faith-based or non-profit health systems. Consorta's 13 shareholder healthcare systems represent 60 percent of all Catholic hospitals in the United States, and are among the leading integrators of non-profit healthcare in America. Consorta's membership now encompasses more than 2,400 care sites representing 78,000 patient care beds. This includes more than 500 acute and over 300 extended care facilities throughout the country. For more information, visit www.consorta.com.
About R2 Technology, Inc.
R2 Technology, Inc., headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, is the recognized leader in the development and commercialization of computer aided detection (CAD), an innovative technology that assists physicians in the earlier detection of breast cancer, actionable lung nodules and other lung abnormalities. As a medical imaging company dedicated to diagnostic decision support, increasing physician productivity and preventing medical errors, R2 Technology is developing CAD systems for a variety of imaging modalities and disease states. For more information, visit www.r2tech.com or call 866-243-2533.
NOTE: ImageChecker is a registered trademark of R2 Technology, Inc.
* Studies available upon request.
R2 Technology, Inc.CONTACT: media, Tracy Morris, +1-650-473-1272, or tracy@morrismarcom.com,for R2 Technology, Inc.
