Japanese high tech glass manufacturer Nippon Electric Glass Co has developed a lead-free radiation shield glass for use in medical imaging, the company said on 3 March 2004.
The thin high-strength gl…
Japanese high tech glass manufacturer Nippon Electric Glass Co has developed a lead-free radiation shield glass for use in medical imaging, the company said on 3 March 2004. The thin high-strength glass is said to be most suitable for mammography, an X-ray examination of the breast that can detect tumours at an early stage of development and requires relatively low power consumption. The newly developed glass will replace the lead acrylic shielding material currently used in mammography. Manufacturing of the new glass is to start in April 2004 in Europe, where mammography is widely used, the company said. Established in December 1949, Nippon Electric Glass is listed on the first sections of the Tokyo and Osaka Stock Exchanges. The company, headquartered in Otsu, western Japan, has a paid-up capital of JPY 18.3 billion (USD 166.07 million/EUR 136.47 million) and employs 3,209. Nippon Electric Glass reported JPY 328.8 billion (USD 2.98 million/EUR 2.45 million) consolidated sales for fiscal 2002/03, ended March 2003.