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DIAGNOS Signs Distribution Agreement With Mafatlal Group for CARA Diabetes Products in India


Published on 2010-06-15 07:20:09 - Market Wire
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BROSSARD, QUEBEC, CANADA--(Marketwire - June 15, 2010) - DIAGNOS inc. ("DIAGNOS" or "the Corporation") (TSX VENTURE:ADK), a leader in the use of artificial intelligence and advanced knowledge extraction techniques, announces today that it has signed a distribution agreement for CARA (Computer Assisted Retinal Analysis) in India with The Mafatlal Group.

"I am really excited to work with DIAGNOS on CARA deployment in India. As a member of a large ophthalmology practice, I see firsthand the need for wide-scale cost-effective diabetic retinopathy screening programs for our very large diabetic population. It is our intention to process as many as 5,000 patients a day. I look forward to working with Atulya Mafatlal and his team at the Mafatlal Group to deploy a screening model in the Indian market" said Dr. Ryan DSouza, Chief Eye Surgeon and Medical Director, CEDS - The Center for Eye Diagnostics and Surgery, Mumbai.

"We are looking forward to deploy CARA in India. This is by far the largest market for us in the world and has major revenue potential for DIAGNOS. Under the terms of our agreement, we expect to process exams from a variety of sources such as public and private hospitals as well as optometry settings under the guidance of Dr. Ryan DSouza, and his medical team. This exam volume will translate into $5 per patient for DIAGNOS" said Andre Larente, DIAGNOS' President.

"We are extremely pleased to be moving forward with an implementation plan in India. The size of the Indian diabetic population underscores the need for innovative high-throughput solutions like CARA. According to the WHO, the number of diabetics in India is going to reach 80 million by 2030, a significant increase from 32 million in 2000. Our teleophthalmology platform will help make most efficient and effective use of the limited number of retina specialists in India, giving the specialists and general practitioners pre-prioritized patient lists and our proprietary Image Enhancement to help them see lesions more clearly and recognize their presence faster" said Peter Nowacki, DIAGNOS' Vice-President - Healthcare.

About Mafatlal Group

Mafatlal Enterprises Group, is headed by Mr. Atulya Mafatlal. Mr. Atulya Mafatlal belongs to the house of Mafatlal's, a prominent family of four generations of industrialists. Mafatlal Group was founded in 1905 and came to occupy a leading position as one of the largest promoter group in India which was a pioneer in textiles, petrochemicals, plastics and others.

Mafatlal Enterprises Group is a newly founded group with particular focus on the services industry. In line with the tremendous growth potential in India and globalization of world economy, the group is actively pursuing opportunities in HealthCare, software, Financial Services and logistics. The health care opportunities are in the cancer patient and diabetic aid in hospitals in India and will include the DIAGNOS CARA services.

About CARA

CARA is a tele-ophthalmology platform that integrates with existing equipment (hardware and software) and processes at the point of service (POS) and comprises: image upload, automated pre-screening, grading by a specialist and referral to a specialist. CARA's image enhancement algorithms make standard retinal images sharper, clearer, and easier to read. It is an automated platform accessible securely over the internet, and is compatible with all recognized image formats and brands of fundus cameras. CARA is a cost-effective tool for processing large numbers of images, in real-time and has been issued a licence by Health Canada for commercialization in Canada.

About DIAGNOS

Founded in 1998, DIAGNOS is a publicly traded Canadian corporation with a mission to commercialize technologies combining contextual imaging and traditional data mining thereby improving decision making processes. DIAGNOS offers products, services, and solutions to clients in a variety of fields including natural resources, healthcare, and entertainment.

For further information, please visit our website at [ www.diagnos.com ] or the SEDAR website at [ www.sedar.com ].


The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

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