Hitachi Aloka Medical America and iVu Imaging Corp Announce Exclusive Agreement for Distribution of Sofia Whole Breast Ultrasound System
Wallingford, CT – December 16, 2014 - Hitachi Aloka Medical America, Inc. (HAMA) and iVu Imaging Corporation announced the signing of an agreement making HAMA the exclusive North American distributor of iVu’s SOFIA system, an automated whole breast ultrasound scanner designed for women with mammographically dense breasts. “This agreement fills a need for both companies,” explained Mark Stribling, CEO of iVu. “iVu gains an expanded sales channel and HAMA adds a solution to address a market that I believe is poised for significant growth over the next several years.” Mr. Stribling went on to explain that the two companies have also found technological synergy that improves the performance of SOFIA. “By integrating Hitachi Aloka transducer technology into SOFIA, we have been able to overcome what is the single most limiting factor for the adoption of whole breast ultrasound: acquisition and interpretation times.” Stribling said that this product change allows the acquisition of an entire breast volume in 52 seconds and an average image interpretation time of less than two minutes per case.
The agreement reflects a larger strategy that has served as an ongoing guiding philosophy for Hitachi Aloka, says David Famiglietti, President and General Manager of HAMA. “We are continually looking for ways that Hitachi Aloka can respond rapidly to the ever-changing landscape of medical imaging and provide our customers with comprehensive ultrasound solutions. The alliance is a great example of this because the result is more than just the sum of its parts. Through our combined technology and market knowledge, we’ve created an automated whole breast ultrasound solution that offers imaging, economic, and operational advantages over all the competitive products available today.”
HAMA showcased the SOFIA product at this year’s annual meeting of the Radiology Society of North America in Chicago and received a very favorable response from attendees. “Dealing with dense-breast patients was a hot topic at the scientific sessions during this RSNA,” reported Mr. Famiglietti. “And the level of traffic at the SOFIA display certainly reflected this. It was clear that our unique value proposition resonated with attendees.”