THE ATLANTA OFFICE OF JONES, DAY, REAVIS & POGUE REPRESENTED STOCKHOLM-BASED ELEKTA INSTRUMENT AB, IN ITS NEWLY FORMED ALLIANCE WITH THE SWISS COMPANY, LEICA AG.
“THIS WAS A DREAM PROJECT FOR SOMEONE WHO LIKES TO CALL HIMSELF AN INTERNATIONAL LAWYER,” SAID MASON CARGILL, AN ATTORNEY WITH JONES, DAY, CONCERNING THE ALLIANCE WHICH INCLUDES AGREEMENTS ON THREE CONTINENTS.
MR. CARGILL TOLD GLOBALFAX IN A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW LAST WEEK THAT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND DISTRIBUTION ISSUES, AND THEIR ANTI-TRUST IMPLICATIONS HAD TO BE ADDRESSED IN EUROPE, JAPAN AND NORTH AMERICA.
HE HAS REPRESENTED ELEKTA, WHICH SELLS A BROAD RANGE OF NEUROLOGICAL MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS, SINCE THE SWEDISH COMPANY OPENED AN ATLANTA OFFICE IN 1983. LARS LEKSELL, A NEUROSURGEON, FOUNDED THE COMPANY IN 1972 AFTER HAVING INVENTED ITS MAIN PRODUCT, THE “GAMMA KNIFE,” IN THE 1960S. THE GAMMA KNIFE TREATS BRAIN TUMORS BY EXTERNAL COBALT RADIATION.
IN ADDITION, TO TRADITIONAL SURGICAL EQUIPMENT USED IN BRAIN OPERATIONS, THE COMPANY ALSO HAS CONTINUED TO DEVELOP NEW DEVICES FOR NEUROSURGERY INCLUDING AN “IMAGE GUIDED SURGERY SYSTEM,” WHICH ASSISTS A SURGEON TO FOLLOW ON A COMPUTER SCREEN THE POSITION OF A PROBE DURING A BRAIN OPERATION.
THE ALLIANCE WITH LEICA, WHICH IS PRIMARILY KNOWN FOR ITS PRECISION CAMERAS, WAS PROMPTED BY THE COMPANY’S PRODUCT LINE OF SURGICAL MICROSCOPES.
THE COMPANIES WILL DEVELOP TECHNOLOGY WHICH WILL INTEGRATE A LEICA MICROSCOPE INTO ELEKTA’S IMAGE GUIDED SYSTEM ENABLING A SURGEON TO SUPERIMPOSE IMAGES FROM BRAIN SCANS ONTO THE LENS OF THE MICROSCOPE USED DURING AN OPERATION.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, MR. CARGILL MAY BE REACHED BY TELEPHONE AT (404) 521-3939; FAX, (404) 581-8330. CATHERINE GILMORE, PRESIDENT OF ELEKTA’S U.S. SUBSIDIARY, MAY BE REACHED AT (404) 315-1225.