SK Telecom said on Friday that it would enter the medical imaging industry after injecting a total of 27.6 trillion won ($23 million) into Nanox, an innovative medical imaging technology company. South Korea’s largest mobile carrier discussed with Israel-based Nanox to construct a “healthcare” factory here.
SK Telecom also entered a partnership with Nanox to deploy 2,500 Nanox Systems integrating “medical screening as a service (MsaaS)” model in South Korea and Vietnam. The collaboration aims to raise the accessibility of all socio-economic communities to medical imaging services.
Park Jung-ho, SK Telecom’s CEO, said that the company passionately seeks to revolutionize healthcare by taking advantage of innovative technologies. He added that Nanox’s technologies and systems could make a real change in the early detection of diseases and promote higher standards of human care.
Revolutionizing Medical Imaging Solutions
Nanox, founded by Ran Polianke, is an Israel-based company developing commercial-grade digital X-ray machines designed for real-world medical imaging solutions. The firm believes that its novel technology could significantly reduce medical imaging systems’ costs by providing affordable early detection imaging services for all.
According to SK Telecom, Nanox’s digital X-ray technology uses silicon microelectromechanical systems (MEMs) semiconductors instead of metal filament used in earlier analog X-ray systems. MEMs reduce radiation exposure while making the device weigh only around one-fifth of conventional X-ray equipment.
The mobile carrier said it acquired business rights to distribute Nanox’s solutions to South Korea and Vietnam. SK Telecom added that once it secures the required regulatory clearances, it would sell the products.
In a statement, Ran said that increasing early detection of medical conditions would fulfill Nanox’s ambitious goal of helping eradicate diseases. He added that with the support of SK Telecom, their aim of creating accessible medical imaging services could be realized quicker.
SK Telecom said it intends to launch various services utilizing the digital X-ray technology with affiliates such as digital health care business Invites Healthcare Co., and security service provider ADT Caps Co. Additionally, the company said that Nanox’s technology could be used at manufacturing plants for product quality inspections, and airport screening process.
The telecom company said that the Nanox system would be available in 2021 globally.
