PENTAX Medical Company Acquires Operating Assets of Kay Elemetrics Corp. - World Leaders in Speech, Voice, and Swallowing Instrumentation

Business Wire, March 17, 2005

MONTVALE, N.J. -- PENTAX Medical Company, a division of PENTAX of America, Inc. ("PENTAX") which is a wholly owned subsidiary of PENTAX Corporaton of Japan, today announced the Company has acquired all of the operating assets of Lincoln Park, New Jersey-based Kay Elemetrics Corp. ("Kay"), a privately held company. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Kay's operations will be continued as a division of PENTAX Medical Company under the name "KayPENTAX."

"Kay is the global leader in speech, voice, and swallowing instrumentation, with a dominant market share in the United States and abroad, and distribution in more than 40 countries around the world," stated David Woods, President of PENTAX Medical Company. "This acquisition supports our strategy of increasing our Life Care business through careful investment in world-class medical technologies."

"We are excited about the synergies bringing Kay into the PENTAX family represents, in particular Kay's strength in digital strobe laryngeal imaging. We expect to be able to capitalize on these synergies in both the short and long term, resulting in a positive impact on our bottom line," Woods continued.

"Joining forces with PENTAX will enable our organization to improve our reach, and effectively penetrate new markets by introducing our technologies to new applications. We have partnered successfully in the past with PENTAX and believe our product lines and corporate cultures complement one another," said John M. Crump, President of Kay Elemetrics Corp. "Both Kay and PENTAX share an intense commitment to research and development, and providing superior service and support to our customers. We plan to continue to lead the market and help our customers give their patients the highest level of care, supported by the latest technologies," continued Crump, who will assume the position of General Manager of KayPENTAX.

About PENTAX Medical Company

PENTAX Medical Company is an industry leader developing technologies that positively impact patient outcomes. PENTAX specializes in video & fiber endoscopy equipment and computer technology & imaging products for diagnostic, therapeutic, and research applications in the GI, ENT, and Pulmonology fields. The Company's primary market encompasses hospitals, physician practices and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). In addition, PENTAX's ACTive Solutions Network provides single source access to multiple vendors who specialize in developing software technologies and integrated systems that improve the efficiency of GI labs and ASCs. PENTAX is headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey. For additional information, visit www.pentaxmedical.com.

About Kay Elemetrics Corp.

Founded in 1947 as Kay Electric Company and incorporated in 1970 under its current name, Kay originally designed electronic measurement instruments used in industrial, university research, and military applications. Today, Kay specializes in speech, voice, and swallowing analysis instrumentation. The Company offers a complete line of instrumentation used internationally by speech language pathologists, otolaryngologists, voice scientists, and linguists. These include acoustic, electroglottographic, aerodynamic, videostroboscopic, and swallowing instrumentation. Kay is headquartered in Lincoln Park, New Jersey, with representatives in over 40 countries. For additional information, visit www.kaypentax.com.