SuperSonic signs distribution agreement with Hologic to develop breast ultrasound market in the U.S

SuperSonic Imagine, the innovative producer of ultrasound equipment, announced today that it has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Hologic, Inc. (Nasdaq: HOLX) to develop the breast ultrasound market in the United States. Under the terms of the agreement, Hologic will sell, install and service SuperSonic Imagine's Aixplorer® MultiWave™ ultrasound system exclusively to the breast care community in the United States. SuperSonic Imagine has retained U.S. rights for the commercialization of the Aixplorer ultrasound system in all other clinical applications to include; liver, thyroid, abdominal, musculoskeletal, gynecological and prostate imaging.

SuperSonic Imagine's Aixplorer ultrasound system is the only product on the market that uses two waves to better characterize tissue: an ultrasound wave (B-mode) and a shear wave. Thanks to this revolutionary MultiWave™ Technology, Aixplorer is the only system available that can generate, capture and compute shear wave velocity in real time, resulting in a color-coded map of local tissue elasticity in kilopascals. This technology, named ShearWave™ Elastography, is user-skill independent, as it does not rely on compression; therefore, it is fully reproducible and can monitor lesion stiffness over time.

Hologic, Inc. is a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of premium diagnostics products, medical imaging systems and surgical products dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women.

Jacques Souquet, CEO of SuperSonic Imagine commented, "We look forward to a successful partnership in the United States with Hologic. Both of our companies have a commitment to providing the highest quality imaging products to assist in the diagnosis of breast disease. Our Aixplorer MultiWave ultrasound system complements Hologic's portfolio and provides clinicians with an exceptional diagnostic tool to help diagnose breast cancer."

Claude Cohen-Bacrie, Executive Vice President and CSO added, "This distribution agreement coincides nicely with the completion of our two year, worldwide, multicenter study to assess the clinical benefits of ShearWave™ Elastography in the ultrasonic evaluation of breast lesions which involved 1,800 patients and top clinicians in the breast radiology community. Our preliminary results are truly convincing and we believe the Aixplorer system will have a major impact in the breast healthcare market."