With the One Million Women Project the Chinese Ministry of Health aims at screening one million Chinese women for breast diseases within the coming two years. Across China 160 screening sites will be established, of which 110 units will be installed in existing hospitals and 50 units will be operating as mobile diagnosis centers. These mobile diagnosis centers allow people living in more remote areas easy access to this life-saving health service. The One Million Women Project which was launched on April 18th, 2005, is sponsored by Vice-Premier Wu Yi, and the Chinese Women's Association, chaired by Ms Gu Xiuliang, the vice President of the People's Congress.
Agfa has been chosen as one of the key partners for the One Million Women Project. Agfa's long-standing commitment to high quality breast imaging forms the basis for Agfa's Women's Care solutions. This commitment, supported by years of experience and in-depth industry knowledge, combined with extensive R&D resources, has spurred the introduction of innovative mammography imaging systems. Agfa will equip the mobile screening centers with its mammography imaging solutions, including digital X-ray image processing and high resolution medical imagers. Agfa is donating a mobile screening unit to the project, fully equipped with Agfa's mammography technology.
The program is coordinated from the One Million Women Project office in Beijing, which will monitor the functioning of the program and ensure compliance with strict quality procedures.
In March 2005, a first mammography symposium was set up in Beijing, in cooperation with the American Cancer Society and experts from the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL). In June 2005, a team from the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL) will train a team of Chinese experts on the medical breast disease.
"We are honoured with the King's visit and the personal interest he has shown in the One Million Women Project. We appreciate his support of this program," said Ludo Verhoeven, Chairman of Agfa's Board of Directors.
Agfa started its activities in China more than twenty years ago (in Hong Kong in 1984) and now has headquarters in Shanghai. Today, Agfa has offices and production plants in major Chinese cities (Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Jinan and Wuxi). Agfa has both HealthCare and Graphic Systems operations in China. Agfa employs more than 400 persons in China.
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About Agfa
The Agfa-Gevaert Group is one of the world's leading imaging companies. Agfa develops, manufactures and markets analogue and digital systems, intended mainly for the graphics industry and the healthcare markets.
Agfa's headquarters are in Mortsel, Belgium. The company is active in 40 countries and has agents in another 100 countries throughout the world. Together they achieved a turnover of 3,762 million euros in 2004.
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Contact:
Nancy Glynn
Agfa-Gevaert
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tel.: +32 (0)3 444 80 00
e-mail: nancy.glynn@agfa.com
Geertrui De Smet
Agfa HealthCare Business Group
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tel.: +32 (0) 3 444 73 06
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