Sony support measures for frontline healthcare professionals in response to COVID-19

BASINGSTOKE, UK – 20^th May 2020: Sony has announced support measures for frontline healthcare professionals engaged in the fight against the COVID-19 in Japan and Europe, including access to its medical digital imaging platform NUCLeUS™, the manufacture and donation of medical face shields as well as support for the production of ventilators.

1. Complementary licenses for Digital Imaging Platform NUCLeUS

To support healthcare workers in Europe, Sony will provide complementary partial software licenses for the IP-based platform, NUCLeUS, which streamlines the management and distribution of images in hospital. This license lasts for 6 months and will be distributed starting from mid-May to European medical institutions in which systems are in operation. It allows healthcare workers grasp their patients’ situation from distant areas in a hospital, and contributes to improve the environment of medical equipment, i.e., in order to use an operating room in place of a currently limited intensive care unit.

2. Manufacture and donation of medical face shields

Sony has been manufacturing medical face shields, incorporating frames repurposed from the eye shields of medical 3D monitors, provided by its Medical Business Group. Sony is also cooperating with M3, Inc. (“M3”) on the application process for medical institutions and delivery. Face shield sets will be donated to medical institutions in Japan, based on applications to M3’s website from healthcare workers, at a rate of approximately 5,000 sets per week (5,000 units of the frames, and 50,000 units of the shields), and in total approximately 40,000 sets from mid-May.

3. Support for manufacture of ventilators by Sony Global Manufacturing & Operations Corporation

Sony Global Manufacturing & Operations Corporation will provide manufacturing support for the production of ventilators, and is working with ACOMA Medical Industry Co., Ltd. (“ACOMA”　URL：http://www.en.acoma.com/) to produce ventilators developed and designed by ACOMA.

Mass production is scheduled to begin in July, and 500 units are planned to be manufactured by the end of September. This support is in response to the Japanese government’s COIVD-19 initiatives, and Sony will explore the possibility of providing manufacturing support for other ventilator manufacturers, depending on the situation going forward.