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TOKYO -- Ricoh will gain a path to the medical sector with the acquisition of a Yokogawa Electric business centered on equipment for measuring brain activity.

     By offering improved versions of Yokogawa's magnetoencephalography (MEG) systems and developing new, proprietary products including medical-use IT systems and cameras, Ricoh hopes to develop the medical field into a business with sales of 50 billion yen ($437 million) by 2025.

     This represents a belated entry into the medical field for Ricoh compared with rival Japanese precision instrument companies like Canon, Fujifilm Holdings and Konica Minolta.

     But Ricoh will be able to hit the ground running in April because the purchase gives it access to Yokogawa's MEG patents, development and production equipment. The staff of more than 10, including professionally certified workers, is also part of the deal. The acquisition price was not disclosed.

     MEG systems measure brain functionality and map brain activity by detecting the faint magnetic fields generated in the brain. Just over 200 of the machines are currently in use around the world, primarily for patients with epilepsy. But MEG might also prove to be a way to detect dementia at an early stage and Ricoh believes this is a market with great growth potential.

     Yokogawa Electric ceased production of MEG systems in 2011 and since then has only been offering maintenance services, leaving the Swedish company Elekta with a virtual monopoly on sales.

     But Elekta's MEG systems cost around 500 million yen apiece, and Ricoh intends to cut that price in half by leveraging its purchasing power.

     Ricoh also plans to boost the precision of MEG systems and combine the machines with diagnostic software to make them easier to use. With these improvements, the company aims to sell dozens of MEG systems a year in the U.S. alone.

     Ricoh will tap the medical equipment business knowledge inherited through the acquisition to advance its own R&D in this field and commercialize new products within the decade.

     In the field of medical IT, Ricoh has already developed a remote diagnostic system for use with stethoscopes, blood pressure monitors and the like. The company is now testing that system in India.

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