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NEWS RELEASE

         CONTACT:
         Norris Battin
         The Cooper Companies, Inc.
         ir@coopercompanies.com

         FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

              COOPER COMPANIES UNIT COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF BONE
             DENSITOMETRY BUSINESS OF NORLAND MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.

LAKE FOREST, Calif., April 15, 2002 -- The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NYSE: COO)
announced today that CooperSurgical (CSI), its women's healthcare unit, has
completed the acquisition of the bone densitometry business of Norland Medical
Systems (OTCBB: NRLD).

Cooper paid $3.5 million at closing net of $1.5 million held back against
representations and warranties, and may pay additional amounts not to exceed a
maximum purchase price of $12 million based on performance over the next three
years. Cooper expects that the acquisition will be neutral to earnings per share
during the remainder of fiscal 2002 and accretive thereafter.

Norland's densitometry products, which are used in the evaluation of
osteoporosis, had sales of $8.5 million in 2001. CSI plans to maintain
operations at the Norland facility in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, and will
continue to use the Norland brand name. CSI has been a distributor of these
products since November 2000.

Commenting on the acquisition, A. Thomas Bender, Cooper's chief executive
officer said, "The Norland bone densitometry business targets a fast growing
market where new drug therapies are supporting the early diagnosis of
osteoporosis. As women reach 45 years of age, we expect that bone density
screening will become a part of the routine physical, along with the standard
Pap smear."

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is characterized by excessive loss of bone mineral and
deterioration of the skeleton over time. It typically occurs in women over the
age of 45. Those particularly at risk include Caucasian or Asian women who are
thin or small-framed, postmenopausal women with a low level of estrogen and
women with a family history of the disease. Alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine use
have also been implicated.







Osteoporosis typically has no overt symptoms in its early stages. The first sign
is often bone fracture. Osteoporosis leads to increased risk of fracture,
chronic pain and immobility, usually at the hip, forearm or spine. The National
Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) estimates that osteoporosis affects more than 22
million women in the United States, and if unchecked, predicts that it will
affect more than 30 million women by 2010 as the population ages. The
post-menopausal female population has the highest incidence of osteoporosis and
the highest rate of morbidity (loss of quality of life) and mortality due to
osteoporosis.

Hip fractures produce the most serious consequences. According to the NOF, there
are more than 300,000 hip fractures per year in the United States and 50% of hip
fracture patients never walk independently again. The NOF estimates that in the
United States, osteoporosis contributes to more than 1.5 million fractures
annually, a majority of which were of the spine and hip. Annual direct medical
expenditures for osteoporosis and associated fractures are $13.8 billion, a
figure that is expected to increase to $62 billion by the year 2020.

Until recently, osteoporosis was thought to be an inevitable and untreatable
consequence of aging. The availability of more effective drug therapies and an
increased focus on women's health issues and preventive medical practices have
created a growing awareness among patients and physicians that osteoporosis is,
in many cases, a disease that can be treated. The National Osteoporosis Risk
Assessment study of over 200,000 patients, published in the December 2001 issue
of The Journal of the American Medical Association, showed a strong relationship
between peripheral bone density measurement and fracture risk and recommended
more aggressive programs in primary care settings to identify and treat those at
risk.

In February, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued an
opinion which recommends that all postmenopausal women 65 years of age or older
and others with certain risk factors be screened for osteoporosis. They noted
that dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) remains the "gold standard" for
bone mineral density testing citing DEXA's high precision, minimal radiation
exposure and rapid screening time.

The Norland Bone Densitometry Business

The Norland bone densitometry business features both peripheral and central DEXA
measurement systems.

Peripheral Bone Measurement Systems

The Apollo DXA'TM' and the Discovery'r' systems measure bone density in specific
body sites such as the heel and forearm and are called peripheral systems. Like
the larger central DXA systems, they measure bone mass and compare it to a
normal reference population. They are designed for physician offices, small
clinics and other settings such as pharmacies and other non-traditional testing
environments. The peripheral systems correlate well to hip and spine
measurements, but are more compact and lower priced than traditional DEXA
systems.

The Apollo DXA, measures weight-bearing bone in the heel in 15 seconds,
providing quantitative analysis of bone mass, including bone mineral density,
and compares this data to normal reference populations, either from an
easy-to-use hand held control console or laptop computer. The Apollo DXA's
Fracture Risk Assessment Option helps determine fracture risk.








The Discovery system measures bone mineral content and bone mass density at two
sites on the forearm and compares the findings to normal reference populations
and to the patient's prior examinations. It also provides skeletal images and
graphical presentation of results.

Central DXA Systems

Central measurement systems include three DXA-bone densitometers: the compact
Excell'TM', the Excell'TM' plus and the full size XR-46'TM'. These measure bone
mass density and bone mineral content and compare results to reference
populations and the patient's prior examination. These are sold to hospitals,
clinics and group practices. Each system can perform axial (hip and spine) and
peripheral scans. The XR-46 also performs full body scans.

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the information included in this news release contains "forward-looking
statements" as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements include all statements regarding anticipated growth
in our revenue, anticipated market conditions and results of operations. To
identify forward-looking statements look for words like "believes," "expects,"
"may," "will," "should," "seeks," "intends," "plans," "estimates" or
"anticipates" and similar words or phrases. Discussions of strategy, plans or
intentions often contain forward-looking statements. These, and all
forward-looking statements, necessarily depend on assumptions, data or methods
that may be incorrect or imprecise.

Events, among others, that could cause actual results and future actions to
differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements include
major changes in business conditions, a major disruption in the operations of
our manufacturing facilities, new competitors or technologies, the impact of an
undetected virus on our computer systems, acquisition integration delays or
costs, foreign currency exchange exposure, investments in research and
development and other start-up projects, dilution to earnings per share from
acquisitions or issuing stock, regulatory issues, changes in tax laws,
significant environmental cleanup costs above those already accrued, litigation
costs including any related settlements, cost of business divestitures, the
requirement to provide for a significant liability or to write off a significant
asset, changes in accounting principles or estimates, and other factors
described in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the
"Business" section in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October
31, 2001. We caution investors that forward-looking statements reflect our
analysis only on their stated date. We disclaim any intent to update them except
as required by law.

Corporate Information

The Cooper Companies, Inc. and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market
specialty healthcare products. Corporate offices are located in Lake Forest and
Pleasanton, Calif. A toll free interactive telephone system at 1-800-334-1986
provides stock quotes, recent press releases and financial data. The Cooper
Companies' World Wide Web address is www.coopercos.com.

CooperSurgical, Inc., with operations in Trumbull, Conn., Hollywood, Fla., Fort
Appleton, Wis., Malmo, Sweden, Montreal and Berlin, markets diagnostic products,
surgical instruments and accessories for the gynecological market. Its Web
address is www.coopersurgical.com.







CooperVision, Inc., markets a broad range of contact lenses for the vision care
market. Headquartered in Lake Forest, Calif., it manufactures in Huntington
Beach, Calif., Rochester, N.Y., Norfolk, Va., Adelaide, Australia, Farnborough
and Hamble, England, Madrid, Spain and Toronto. Its Web address is
www.coopervision.com.