For Immediate Release - February 4, 2003

For the first quarter of fiscal 2003, Hologic reported a net loss of $912,000, or $0.05 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $1,573,000, or $0.10 per diluted share, in the first quarter of fiscal 2002. The current quarter results were adversely affected by a number of issues, including a shortfall in digital radiographic system sales due to the inability of customers to complete room readiness on time, coupled with supplier delays in delivering acceptable quantities of panels which delayed shipments to OEM customers. The net loss in the current quarter also included an increase in sales and marketing expenses of approximately $1 million over the previous year for the Company's exhibit at the Radiological Society of North America ("RSNA") medical imaging trade show. In addition, the Company incurred generally higher costs for the addition of field service and sales personnel in connection with the current expansion of its U.S. distribution. Included in the first quarter of fiscal 2002 operating results are restructuring costs of approximately $1.6 million for severance related expenses resulting from the closure of the Hologic Systems Division manufacturing facility in Littleton, Massachusetts and additional reductions of the Company's workforce in Europe and at Lorad.

In November 2002, in order to better serve our large base of mammography customers and take advantage of the increasing demand for Hologic's full field digital mammography system, which requires increased technical proficiency for installation, connectivity and ongoing service support, we launched a new direct sales initiative. We have historically sold mammography systems in the U.S. primarily through independent distributors. In fiscal 2002, independent dealer sales represented 75% of our total domestic mammography product sales and Diagnostic Imaging, our single largest distributor accounted for $28 million of the total. In January 2003, we ended our relationship with Diagnostic Imaging and worked out a transition agreement whereby Hologic will now sell direct in their former territories.

While we continue to value and use independent distributors in select locations, we now have control over approximately 80% of our U.S. mammography customer base. The goal of this new initiative is to increase sales and recurring service revenues, to improve margins, provide a controlled pathway for distributing new products, and provide greater responsiveness to our customers. We believe after an initial transition period these benefits will greatly outweigh the increased sales, service, marketing and other costs associated with expanding our direct sales and service presence. We are in the midst of our transition to a direct sales and service organization in these territories and anticipate we will require 41 new service personnel and 11 new sales personnel. Of this requirement, 28 new employees have already joined Hologic and we expect to fill the remaining 24 positions in February.

Commenting on the quarter, Jack W. Cumming, President and CEO said, "Although we are disappointed with the bottom line results for the quarter, we are encouraged that our core businesses of osteoporosis assessment, mammography and mini C-arm's continues to meet our expectations. Most disappointing this quarter was the increase in our net loss for our digital imaging segment, since it could have been avoided by the earlier readiness of certain customer sites and better performance on the part of other suppliers of key components. The second quarter already looks much improved in this segment as we shipped five digital GenRad systems in January and expect to almost double our detector output in the quarter. The opportunity afforded us by the decision to go direct in the territories serviced by our former distributors should pay significant dividends in the near term through increased revenues and margins and also longer term as we strengthen our sales and service capabilities creating a formidable presence in radiology and imaging centers allowing us to seamlessly add future products and technologies."

First quarter financial overview by segment:

• Mammography revenues increased 26% to $21,799,000 for the first quarter of fiscal 2003 from $17,143,000 for the same period in fiscal 2002. Operating income for this business segment in the first quarter of fiscal 2003 decreased slightly to $770,000 from $944,000 in the first quarter of fiscal 2002. Included in the first quarter of fiscal 2002 operating results were restructuring costs of approximately $374,000 for severance related expenses. This decrease was primarily due to an increase in field service and sales expenses as we have increased staffing levels to handle the our introduction of Selenia™ digital mammography system and also an increase in sales and marketing costs related to RSNA. Pre-tax income improved to $838,000 this quarter from $227,000 in the comparable quarter last year due to the elimination of interest expense, as the Thermo Electron note payable incurred in the acquisition of this business was repaid in September 2002. This benefit was partially offset by the inclusion of rental expense associated with the sale/leaseback of the Danbury facility at the same time.
• Osteoporosis Assessment revenues totaled $16,600,000 for the first quarter of fiscal 2003, compared to revenue of $16,726,000 for the same period in fiscal 2002. Operating income for this business segment in the first quarter of fiscal 2003 decreased to $1,698,000 from $2,213,000 in the first quarter of fiscal 2002. Included in the first quarter of fiscal 2002 operating results were restructuring costs of approximately $237,000 for severance related expenses. This decrease was primarily due to slight increases in overall operating costs, including higher sales and marketing expenses related to RSNA and also an increase in field service expenses as we have increased staffing levels.
• Digital Imaging revenues declined to $4,645,000 in the first quarter of fiscal 2003 from $5,490,000 in the first quarter of fiscal 2002. The operating loss for this business segment increased to $4,518,000 in the current quarter from $2,081,000 in the first quarter of fiscal 2002. The decline in revenues was primarily attributable to delays in shipments relating to customer room readiness issues and to delays in receiving important components from selected suppliers. The increase in the operating loss was primarily due to the reduction in revenues which reduced gross margins, additional manufacturing costs associated with the rollout of the Selenia digital mammography detector and increased sales and marketing expenses.
• Mini C-arm revenues increased 36% to $4,535,000 for the first quarter of fiscal 2003 from $3,322,000 for the same period in fiscal 2002. Operating income for this business segment in the first quarter of fiscal 2003 increased to $790,000 from $537,000 in the first quarter of fiscal 2002. This increase was primarily due to higher gross margins from the increased revenues year-over-year, partially offset by an increase in sales and marketing expenses.
• General Radiography revenues totaled $1,384,000 for the first quarter of fiscal 2003, compared to revenues of $4,733,000 for the same period in fiscal 2002. Operating income for this business segment in the first quarter of fiscal 2003 was $311,000, compared to an operating loss of $2,394,000 in the first quarter of fiscal 2002. Included in the first quarter of fiscal 2002 operating results were restructuring costs of approximately $868,000 for severance related expenses. The improvement in operating income primarily reflects the elimination of the unprofitable product lines and focus on the profitable service business.

Highlights / Achievements in Fiscal 2003 First quarter include:

• We believe the introduction of our FDA approved SeleniaT digital mammography system with a total image management solution, and related digital components, was one of the hits of this year's RSNA. At the end of January, the Company had in backlog orders for 33 Selenia digital mammography systems.
• We also introduced at RSNA the DiscoveryT series of bone densitometers. The Discovery combines 10-second bone density measurements with 10-second assessment of vertebral fracture status, providing a comprehensive assessment of fracture in the least amount of time. It is the only system offering these features on the market today.
• Hologic expanded its agreement with Novation to include the purchase and sale of the Selenia full field digital mammography system. The original contract covers the purchase and sale of the Company's LORAD line of other breast imaging systems. Novation and Hologic also have existing agreements in place to cover the purchase and sale of Hologic's bone densitometry, mini C-arm imaging and digital radiographic systems.
• Hologic also expanded its relationship with Premier to include the purchase and sale of the Selenia full field digital mammography system. The original contract covers its LORAD line of screen-film mammography and stereotactic breast biopsy systems, and its digital radiographic and mini C-arm imaging systems.

Hologic's management will host a conference call today at 10:00 a.m. (eastern) to discuss first quarter fiscal 2003 operating results. Interested participants may listen to the call by dialing 800-967-7184 or 719-457-2633 for international callers and referencing code 470277 approximately 15 minutes prior to the call. For those unable to participate in the live broadcast, a replay will be available one hour after the call ends through February 11, 2003 at 888-203-1112 or 719-457-0820 for international callers, access code 470277. The Company will also provide a live webcast of the call at the Company's website at www.hologic.com. A replay of the call will also be available on the Company's website shortly after the completion of the live broadcast.

This News Release contains forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the Company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions. Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding: the goal and anticipated benefits of the Company's direct sales initiative for its mammography products; the anticipated improvement of operating results of the Company's digital imaging segment in the Company's second quarter, including the expectation that the Company will almost double its detector output in the quarter; the Company's backlog; and the anticipated future performance of the Company and its products. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. The Company cannot assure that it will be able to achieve any of the benefits sought through its direct sales initiative, or that the benefits, if any, will be sufficient to offset the increased sales, service, marketing and other costs associated with that initiative. The Company's backlog consists of purchase orders for which a delivery schedule within the next twelve months has been specified by the customer. In certain circumstances, orders included in backlog may be canceled or rescheduled by customers without significant penalty. Therefore, backlog as of any particular date should not be relied upon as indicative of our net revenues for any future period. Other factors that could cause actual results to materially differ include, without limitation, the ability of the Company to expand its direct sales and service team for both the near and longer-term to effectively implement its direct sales strategy; manufacturing risks that may limit the Company's ability to ramp-up commercial production of the Selenia and other of the Company's digital products, including the Company's reliance on a single source of supply for some key components of its products as well as the need to comply with especially high standards for those components and in the manufacture of digital x-ray products in general; uncertainties inherent in the development of new products and the enhancement of existing products, including technical and regulatory risks, cost overruns and delays; the risk that newly introduced products may contain undetected errors or defects or otherwise not perform as anticipated; the Company's ability to predict accurately the demand for its products and to develop strategies to address its markets successfully; the early stage of market development for digital x-ray products; risks relating to compliance with financial covenants under the Company's working capital financing and leases; technical innovations that could render products marketed or under development by the Company obsolete; competition; and reimbursement policies for the use of the Company's products. Other factors that could adversely affect the Company's business and prospects are described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Hologic expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in the Company's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.