South Korea-based SK Telecom (SKT) became the second-largest shareholder in an Israeli medical imaging technology company, after increasing its stake.

The operator invested an additional $20 million in Nanox Imaging, adding to a previous injection of $3 million made in 2019.

In a statement, the companies said Nanox Imaging’s approach to designing and building medical viewing systems significantly lowers the cost, which could in turn save lives by increasing availability of equipment capable of more swiftly detecting medical conditions through X-ray.

Nanox Imaging CEO Ran Poliakine said it is collaborating with SKT “to create a world where no person has to wait weeks and months in line for radiology services and diagnostics”.

Park Jung-ho, SKT CEO, stated the partnership will drive innovations in the post-Covid-19 (coronavirus) era by merging next-generation medical imaging with advanced ICT including 5G and AI.

The companies signed an agreement with the goal of installing 2,500 units of the imaging system in Vietnam and Korea.

They also are discussing setting up a Nanox Imaging subsidiary in Korea to expand production of chips used in the system by tapping SKT’s semiconductor expertise.