Luminetx gets Explay stake

Israeli firm's miniature projector to boost VeinViewer efficiency

The Commercial Appeal
October 24, 2007
By Daniel Connolly

Memphis-based Luminetx Corp. has bought a stake in Explay Ltd., an Israeli firm that designs miniature projectors, and has selected Explay to supply parts for its next generation of products.

Luminetx chairman Al Gossett wouldn't disclose the size of the equity stake and would only say that the supply contract is in the "seven figures."

The investments are a major step for privately held Luminetx, a small firm whose signature product, the VeinViewer, had its formal market launch about a year ago.

Projection technology is central to the design of the VeinViewer, which beams an image of hidden blood vessels on the skin in real time, helping medical personnel perform injections and other procedures. But the device is about the size of a grown man and is too bulky for use in some surgical applications.

Gossett, a Luminetx investor who owns the Gossett Motor Cars dealership, said the firm could push into new markets if it had smaller products.

"Maybe a plastic surgeon needs something more portable, smaller, easier to maneuver, whatever," he said. "Obviously having a smaller projector that gives you great quality would be desirable. Let's say you're in an ambulance, let's say you're at war and somebody's got something in his backpack."

Luminetx searched the globe for makers of small, low-powered projectors, said Mark Darty, the firm's executive vice president of research, development and manufacturing.

He found Explay, a firm that's about four years old and based just north of Tel Aviv.

Explay's references were checked by Tal Kimmel, the Israeli-born senior vice president of merchant banking with Stanford Group, which has a stake in Luminetx.

Explay's CEO, Daniel Oleiski, said the firm wants to solve a problem caused by the miniaturization of media players.

"The smaller the devices get, the smaller the screen is, and you lose the impact and convenience of using the devices," he said.

Oleiski demonstrated the prototype by using a purple Japanese-made cell phone that can play videos. He used a wire to connect it to a small metal box slightly smaller than two decks of cards laid end-to-end. With the lights in the room darkened, the box beamed an image of a cartoon onto a screen. Oleiski then turned the box upward and beamed the same image onto the ceiling.

Oleiski said the firm doesn't have any products on the market yet but hopes to start with a projector that could connect externally to devices such as cell phones.

The group hopes to create a projector so small that it can be embedded within a cell phone for sharing videos with friends and family. The firm is also in talks with auto manufacturers about using the device for back seat entertainment or other uses, he said.

Gossett said Luminetx's stake in Explay would allow it to profit from these deals.

- Daniel Connolly: 529-5296

Explay Ltd.
CEO: Daniel Oleiski
Employees: 18
Location: Herzliya, Israel
Web site: explay.co.il

Luminetx
Chairman: Al Gossett
Employees: About 40
Location: 1256 Union Avenue
Web site: luminetx.com