GE to sell R2’s CAD workstations

R2 Technology landed a big fish this month when the developer of mammography computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) workstations signed an exclusive OEM supply deal with GE Medical Systems of Milwaukee. GE has agreed to bundle R2's ImageChecker workstation with its full-field digital mammography systems under development, and sell both products to customers as part of a complete package.

R2 of Los Altos Hills, CA, developed ImageChecker to provide a backup to mammographers reading digitized exams by flagging suspicious areas. R2 began selling ImageChecker in Europe in 1997, and filed a premarket approval (PMA) application with the Food and Drug Administration later that year.

ImageChecker would complement GE's work in digital mammography. Digital x-ray data collected by GE's digital systems could be fed into ImageChecker for analysis. GE's healthy market share in mammography would ensure a large potential market for ImageChecker.

The agreement does not cover the use of ImageChecker with digitized mammography film, leaving R2 open to securing new OEM relationships for that configuration of its product. R2 at one point had been in discussions with Imation over a distribution deal for ImageChecker, but those talks never developed further (SCAN Special Report 12/97).

R2 officials declined to comment on the GE relationship, as the company is still in a quiet period related to its pending initial public offering. The launch of the IPO is contingent on market conditions, according to a source close to the company.