BioImagene Announces US Labs as Its First Strategic Customer to Launch an Innovative Digital Pathology Solution

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 27, 2004-- BioImagene, the innovative provider of digital pathology solutions, announced that US LABS, a national, anatomic pathology reference laboratory devoted to comprehensive, high quality, rapid response cancer testing, has selected its iHARNESS™-powered image analysis solution to offer Virtual Image, a unique service, to its network of pathologists and pathology centers.

US LABS' Virtual Image is launched as an innovative addition to the suite of services it already offers to its network of pathologists and pathology centers. Virtual Image(TM) is a revolutionary new system that works in concert with the pathologist, emulates a 20X microscope, and shortens the turnaround time for accurate image analysis. US Labs has launched this service, built on BioImagene's digital pathology platform, iHARNESS™. With an Internet-based solution, US LABS' customers will be able to analyze images anytime, anywhere and will be able to share them with their colleagues for immediate second opinions, resulting in the tremendous benefits of quicker analysis and reduced costs.

"iHARNESS™ reduced the average analysis time from 20 minutes per case to around 2 minutes per case -- a 90% time savings. The implementation was very efficient and the transition to the new system was extremely smooth," said Matt Watson, Vice President of Operations at US LABS.

"Together, US LABS and BioImagene are making tremendous progress toward achieving our objective of enabling and advancing digital pathology. BioImagene was very supportive during the implementation of our Virtual Image product. Their team was highly responsive and we were delighted with their commitment and dedication to delivering this product on time," said R. Judd Jessup, Chief Executive Officer of US LABS.

"We are very happy to announce the live deployment of iHARNESS™ at US LABS. We have been working with US Labs very closely to enable their Virtual Image service and this is a great example of our ultimate vision of enabling truly digital pathology," said BioImagene Chief Executive Officer, Mohan Uttarwar.

About US LABS

Irvine-based US LABS is a national, anatomic pathology reference laboratory devoted to comprehensive, high quality, rapid response cancer testing. The company provides diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive cancer testing services to hospitals, physician offices, surgery centers, and research institutions.

About BioImagene

BioImagene provides sophisticated bio-image analysis products built on iHARNESS™, its patent-pending technology platform. BioImagene's products allow pathologists and researchers to analyze and interpret images with far greater speed and consistency. The data management systems of BioImagene's technology facilitate communication and collaboration, improving the standard of patient care and increasing the speed of drug discovery. Its scalable digital pathology solutions have been embraced by histopathologists, industry and researchers alike.

BioImagene is headquartered in San Mateo, California. For more information on BioImagene, visit the company's web site at www.bioimagene.com.