R2 TECHNOLOGY RENEWS SYSTEM PROVIDER AGREEMENT WITH CONSORTA

Diagnostics firm R2 Technology has renewed a three-year agreement with group purchasing organization Consorta to distribute R2's ImageChecker computer aided detection (CAD) technology for the early detection of breast cancer and other medical conditions.

The agreement designates R2 as a CAD system provider to Consorta's shareholders, which include more than 2,400 healthcare sites nationwide. Products under the deal include R2's ImageChecker mammography and CT Lung CAD products.

R2 has been a CAD provider to Consorta for the previous three years and is the only such company to maintain this status, R2 said. "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," said John Pavlidis, R2's president and CEO.

"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 of Imaging Services at Consorta.

R2's ImageChecker system was the first CAD system approved by the FDA for use with film-based mammography in 1998 and for digital mammography in 2001. More than 2,000 ImageChecker CAD systems have been shipped worldwide, and this year roughly nine million women will have their mammograms interpreted with the aid of R2's CAD technology.