TeraRecon reveals strategic investment in Acrorad

TeraRecon, Inc. has entered the flat-panel detector market after this week's announcement of a strategic investment in Acrorad Co. Ltd., Okinawa, Japan.

TeraRecon has obtained the exclusive right to resell CdTe-based area detector systems from Acrorad, for medical applications, and preferential resale rights for other applications. TeraRecon will also co-operatively develop a turnkey scalable flat-panel detector system for resale to original equipment manufactures, to help develop Acrorad's area detector systems business. TeraRecon will deploy this cost-effective detector system in its own 3D CT scanner, enhancing its own business development in this area.

TeraRecon says it also obtained the exclusive right to re-sell in North America the Mini Gamma Camera, a hand-held gamma camera system used pre-operatively and inter-operatively for localizing sentinel nodes and other applications involving the detection of radio-nuclide tracers. The pair also will collaborate on development of a next-generation hand-held gamma camera.

In addition, TeraRecon management personnel have assumed both board and management positions with Acrorad. TeraRecon chief executive, Motoaki Saito, MD, PhD, has been appointed to the part-time position of chairman of the board of Acrorad, and Kimiaki Saito, MD, PhD has assumed the full-time position of executive vice president and director with Acrorad.

TeraRecon's investment in Acrorad consists of the acquisition of 2,454 shares of previously issued common stock, and the exercise of a warrant for a further 1,400 shares of newly issued common stock. TeraRecon says its total position in the company represents 35.9 percent of the issued equity, purchased for approximately 6.8 million dollars.

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