Dilon Technologies Inc. said Friday it was launching a new gamma camera for molecular breast imaging at the Society of Nuclear Medicine in San Antonio this week. The company says that the camera, Dilon 6800 Acella, boasts the largest photodetector in the MBI industry, and will be sold alongside its standard Dilon 6800 camera.

"[W]e felt it was crucial to provide the means for facilities to reduce patient manipulation and examination times across the range of body types," Robert G. Moussa, chairman and CEO of Dilon Diagnostics, said in a statement. "The standard Dilon 6800 and the Acella version of it, now provide detectors that are 6"x8" and 8"x10" respectively, both optimized for breast imaging."

The photodetector technology was developed with Digirad Corporation, and represents the first commercial fruit of an agreement reached by the two companies last year to develop new products.

Molecular breast imaging, or breast-specific gamma imaging, is used for women with ambiguous mammograms, especially those with dense breasts. The technology uses a radiotracer that highlights increased metabolic activity of breast lesions. Around 250,000 patients have been scanned worldwide with the technology, Newport News, Va.-based Dilon said.

The Dilon 6800 Acella was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration this year.

More Industry Headlines