April 21, 2022

A Remedi for fake SOURCE, TUBE, CART, and ARC?

 A strange article appeared in the Korean press, supposedly written on April 18, but embargoed until 4 hours ago.  It appears to claim that Nanox may have invested about a $1 million in the Korean company Remedi, based on google translate.  The article mentions that Remedi makes a small hot-cathode x-ray tube and a generic handheld dental medical device that has sold about 1,000 units since it started selling in 2017.  The device is similar looking and has similar specs as devices offered by other manufacturers all over the world, including sub-$600 units from China.  


Remedi may have an FDA clearance, but clearly has to do a lot of work to gain a meaningful share in the world market.  Its website has numerous typos, such as

Hogh[sic]-Voltage Generator, or

Remex is the best provide[sic] diagnostic imaging.

Still, the device has better performance than the fake Nanox.CART, in addition to being battery operated, and can be cleared for the same (and more) indications with an addition of a very thin filter.  The existence of such low-cost portable battery-operated x-ray devices makes a device such as Nanox.ARC redundant, even if it were real (which it is not!).

So why would Nanox, which is supposed to have a superior cathode, tube and device technology, invest in Remedi, a dinosaur making hot-cathode tubes and single-source devices?

Update: According to Remedi's website, the company also makes some other x-ray components and systems, including dental detectors, micro and dental CBCT, and radiation therapy devices.

Update April 22, 2022:  Remedi's small hot-cathode tube that needs no cooling mechanism or rotational mechanics, with length of about 1.6 inch, if we believe this picture.



Update April 22, 2022:  A similarly-worded article by the same reporter in the same publication appeared in December, claiming the same 1,000 units, and so implying that Remedi has sold absolutely nothing in the past 4 months.

Update April 25, 2022: Remedi's small hot-cathode tube may be a fake.  A 2019 manual for the T100 device shown above states (page 31) that the device is using a regular Toshiba tube.

Update April 26, 2022:  Remedi's device sold for $4,800 in early 2019.

Update May 5, 2022:  There is a problem with Remedi's KA6 device, the dental device masquerading as a hand-held portable x-ray device. In violation of FDA rules, Remedi marketing materials claim the intended use includes chest, head, abdomen and extremities, yet the device is only cleared for extremities.  


The device uses a regular Canon/Toshiba x-ray tube, D-041SB.  According to Nanox 20-F filing, this device may be sent to the MSaaS customers instead of the fake Nanox.ARC, thus democratizing healthcare and propelling the universe.

Update July 13, 2022:  TechNer08827503@Twitter noticed that the Remedi device (the "dental" version, but same hardware) is quoted for $1,650 in Indonesia, however, the price quote has remained unchanged since at least September 2020, so it may not be real and/or reliable.

Update July 25, 2022:  The smallest commercial x-ray tube currently on the market is likely the disposable S700 (link) made by Xoft (a sub of ICAD:NASDAQ) with a diameter of just about 2mm and length 15mm, a hot-cathode water-cooled one used for radiation treatment (50 kV, 0.3mA).  Not much demand for it.


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