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Hologic, Inc. records

Creation: 1993-2019
 Collection
Accession: 2750

Abstract

Hologic, Inc. is a developer and manufacturer of medical x-ray imaging instruments with a primary focus on mammography and women's health. The company was founded in 1985 by S. David Ellenbogen (1938-2001) and Jay A. Stein (1942-) in Bedford, Massachusetts. Researchers can expect to find print and digital materials, including medical journal articles, marketing brochures, presentations from sales and marketing meetings, digital photographs of doctors' offices with mammography equipment, price books, Radiological Society of North America annual conventions preparation materials, and pictures and slideshows from company retreats. The finding aid is arranged into four series: Hologic, Inc. company and people, Marketing files, Conferences and sales meetings files, and Articles.

Dates

  • Creation: 1993-2019

Extent

4 Linear Feet

60.1 Gigabytes

13577 digital_files

Historical Note

Hologic, Inc. is a medical technology company primarily focused on women's health; it sells medical devices for diagnostics, surgery, and medical imaging. The company was founded in 1985 by S. David Ellenbogen (1938-2001) and Jay A. Stein (1942-) in Bedford, Massachusetts. Ellenbogen graduated from Newark College of Engineering, and Stein received a Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mammography is a technique that uses x-rays to diagnose and locate breast cancer. For many years, the "gold standard" for diagnosing breast cancer was film mammography, an x-ray-based technology designed to screen for breast cancer in women with no signs or symptoms. In 1973, the DuPont Company was the first to market a dedicated mammography system and emerged as the leader in selling film-based x-ray mammography systems.

At the time, Hologic was most known for its instruments for measuring bone density. Sterling Diagnostic Imaging, a leading x-ray film and equipment provider, had already sold off one-third of its business earlier the same year. The digital x-ray portion was called Direct Radiography Corp. X-ray technology produced digital images rather than film, a technology that was spun off from the DuPont Company's digital radiography technology, which Sterling Diagnostic Imaging acquired in 1996.

In 2000, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the sale of the first digital mammography systems in the United States. DuPont had sold off its x-ray film business and patents related to digital radiology and mammography by that time.

The first digital mammography could only provide a two-dimensional picture of the breast. Although a 2-D image was suitable for assessing fatty breast tissue, it has difficulty picking up abnormalities in dense breast tissue, and overlapping tissue in the image sometimes makes it hard to see tiny micro-calcifications and other subtle signs of early cancer.

Tomosynthesis is a 3-D mammography tool that uses a digital x-ray high-power computer to convert 2-D digital breast images into a stack of very thin layers or "slices" into a three-dimensional image. With breast tomosynthesis technology, the radiologist can examine complexities a millimeter at a time in breast tissue.

In 1999, Hologic bought the digital x-ray business Direct Radiography Corp. from Sterling Diagnostic Imaging, Inc., located in General Electric (GE), which was the first company to gain commercial approval for a digital mammography detector. Through the acquisition Hologic added DirectRay flat-panel digital x-ray, EPEX, and Radex general radiography systems into its product line. For more than two years, GE had the U.S. digital mammography market all to itself. In 2002, the FDA approved the Hologic digital mammography system.

In 2008, Hologic introduced breast tomosynthesis in many of the countries recognizing the CE mark (indicating a product's compliance with European Union legislation). In 2011, Hologic got FDA approval and introduced tomosynthesis in the U.S. Hologic was the only provider of tomosynthesis systems allowed to sell in the U.S. for the next three years.

Scope and Contents

Researchers can expect to find print and digital materials, including medical journal articles, marketing brochures, presentations from sales and marketing meetings, digital photographs of doctors' offices with mammography equipment, price books, Radiological Society of North America annual conventions preparation materials, and pictures and slideshows from company retreats. The finding aid is arranged into four series: Hologic, Inc. company and people, Marketing files, Conferences and sales meetings files, and Articles.

The Hologic, Inc. company and people series contains information about employees, the history of the company, and investments. There are annual reports dating from 2003 through 2008, as well as images and biographical information about staff, including a video and employee directory. The series is arranged chronologically.

The Marketing files series includes information on pricing, sales strategies, and information on equipment for medical professionals, as well as separate materials for patients. There is material related to advertisement planning, market research, business planning, specifications, and sales of various products. Also included are digital and print price books that feature information on complaint forms, installation, and equipment specifications. Digital logo files include different versions of Hologic and Direct Ray logos. The series is arranged alphabetically.

The Conferences and sales meetings files series is divided into three subseries: Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Annual Meetings, Sales meetings, and Various conferences and workshops. The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) subseries includes print and digital materials related to presentations, sales, and promotional videos. The Sales meetings subseries contains event images, presentations, and videos from conferences at different sales meetings, primarily the North American Sales Meeting and the National Sales Meeting. The Various conferences and workshops subseries consists of similar materials from a variety of professional organizations' events. These subseries are arranged chronologically.

The Articles series includes print articles clipped from medical journals that were written by Hologic employees on Hologic equipment and research. The Aunt Minnie print materials are articles written by Hologic employees for Aunt Minnie, a journal for radiologists and related professionals.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access; this collection is open for research.

Related Materials

Hologic Digital Mammography oral histories (Accession 2020.201), Audiovisual Collections and Digital Initiatives Department, Hagley Museum and Library.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Processing Note

This collection contains many DCM files of DICOM materials. DICOM stands for Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine, an organization that sets the standards and dictates acceptable formats for medical imaging. Digital DICOM files contain patient scans approved for promotional purposes. These are available as both DCM and JPG files; however, they lose some dynamics if viewed as a JPG file. DCM viewers are required; some are freely downloadable.

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title:
Hologic, Inc. records
Author:
Chloe Tolman
Date:
2023
Description rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description:
English
Script of description:
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 2023: Laurie Sather

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
PO Box 3630
Wilmington Delaware 19807 USA
302-658-2400