Dec. 7—A Mayo Clinic-owned medical device firm is continuing to grow by working with a Japan-based maker of medical imaging devices.

Resoundant Inc. recently announced that it had signed a licensing agreement with Canon Medical Systems Corp. to incorporate Resoundant's technology into Canon's newest line of magnetic resonance imaging — MRI — scanners.

Rochester-based Resoundant makes a paddle-like imaging device and software that works with traditional MRI scanners to scan organs by using sound waves. The technology is manufactured by Benchmark Electronics in its Rochester facility.

The company was founded by Resoundant CEO and prominent Mayo Clinic researcher Dr. Richard Ehman. Resoundant is wholly owned by Mayo Clinic and 12 inventors of the process called magnetic resonance elastography.

Working with Canon expands Resoundant's reach in Asia. The company already works with the largest MRI makers — GE, Siemens and Philips as well as United Imaging Healthcare, a young Shanghai-based company.

Resoundant's Vice president of Global Policy and Communications Michael Kalutkiewicz estimated that Resoundant's technology is now available on about 2,000 MRI devices giving patients around the world access to it. That's up from an estimated 800 devices in 2017.

"One of our highest priorities is ensuring access to MRE anywhere in the world. Partnering with Canon helps us do that, as their footprint continues to expand rapidly," stated Ehman in the announcement of the agreement.

Resoundant's MRE technology is primarily used to scan livers, although research is underway to use it to scan other soft organs and brains.

The MRE waves are used to judge the "stiffness" of a liver. Previously, the main way to discover that was to do a very invasive biopsy procedure. Doctors are using Resoundant to help diagnose nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, a condition that people with fatty liver disease can develop, among other conditions.

Kalutkiewicz explained that Resoundant developed a "rapid" liver imaging test, which takes only five minutes and costs just $200.

Resoundant launched in Rochester in the early 2000s. In 2017, it outgrew its space in the Mayo Clinic Business Accelerator and moved into a larger office on the second floor of the Premier Bank Professional Building at 421 First Ave. SW.

Tweets by WheresKiger