Zecotek Medical Systems Inc., a market driven, Canadian research and development bio-photonics company, has entered into a Non-Disclosure Agreement with GE Healthcare in respect of its LFS scintillation material. By virtue of this Agreement, the company and its manufacturer Northrop Grumman will provide GE Healthcare with information in respect of using LFS in the crystal block design for GE's PET/CT machines as well as associated pricing.
Recently, company officials met with senior representatives of GE Healthcare at the production facilities of Northrop Grumman (Synoptics) in Charlotte, North Carolina. GE's visit to Northrop Grumman followed GE's testing of LFS samples provided to it by Zecotek and the US patent granted for the LFS material on November 7, 2006. Part of the meetings in North Carolina consisted of a visit by GE of Northrop Grumman's crystal production facility.
Discussions focused in part on the general design and pricing requirements by GE Healthcare. At the end of this meeting, GE Healthcare and Zecotek agreed to enter into a Non-Disclosure Agreement in respect of the LFS scintillation material and to take GE's evaluation of the LFS to the next step.
Dr. Faouzi Zerrouk, Zecotek's chairman and CEO said, "This is welcome news as we feel that GE's interest in the LFS is a testimony to the performance of the LFS as a high-end scintillation material as well as to the benefits of its issued U.S. patent."
James Voigt, GE Strategic Sourcing Leader, said: "GE's further work will be conducted in stages, jointly with Zecotek and Northrop Grumman (Synoptics), initially consisting of work on larger numbers of samples as well as on meeting the design and costing requirements of unit blocks. Subject to continued competitive performance and pricing, Zecotek's LFS material will be a strong candidate for adoption in GE's high end PET/CT machines. We work with and utilize suppliers that have a long-term vision for their products and a passion for quality, value and delivery excellence. Zecotek and the NG production team clearly have the potential to meet our needs".