TRW signs deal to support Scanis mammography CAD workstations

TTechnology conglomerate TRW has signed an agreement to provide systems integration, service, and support for the Mammex computer-aided diagnosis mammography workstation under development by Scanis of Foster City, CA. The agreement complements other deals TRW has signed with medical imaging developers, while Scanis gains the backing of a $10 billion company for service and support functions.

Scanis (formerly Stereometrix) is developing Mammex to help radiologists interpret mammograms through computer analysis of digitized exams to flag suspicious areas. The company debuted the workstation at the 1994 Radiological Society of North America meeting (SCAN 12/28/94).

Under the terms of the agreement announced Oct. 7, TRW will install and service Mammex systems sold by Scanis to hospitals and imaging clinics worldwide. TRW will also provide operational and clinical training to physicians in how to use Mammex, and will help Scanis conduct clinical trials and meet regulatory requirements. Scanis will retain sales and marketing rights.

Scanis entered the agreement because it would be difficult for the development-stage company to build a worldwide service and training network on its own, according to Robert Chapman, president and CEO of the company. The global nature of the agreement is important because Scanis will begin selling Mammex in international markets before the U.S. because the Food and Drug Administration plans to regulate mammography CAD workstations more stringently than international regulatory bodies.

Scanis hopes to begin European sales next year, and has shipped a prototype version of Mammex to a hospital in Switzerland, Chapman said. Another mammography CAD developer, R2 Technology of Los Altos, CA, began selling its ImageChecker system in Europe earlier this year (SCAN 4/16/97). Scanis plans to use distributors to sell Mammex, and Pan-European Services of Milan, Italy, is the company's distributor for France, Italy, and Switzerland.

The service and support agreement will be handled by TRW's Healthcare Information Systems unit in San Bernardino, CA, which signed a similar deal earlier this year with Computerized Thermal Imaging, a Lake Oswego, OR, company that has developed a thermal imaging system with breast imaging applications (SCAN 1/22/97). TRW maintains an Advanced Medical Image Analysis Center in Ogden, UT, that will assist in the development of Mammex.