GREAT NEWS LATE IN DAY!!!!!!
FONR IS GONNA FLY ON MONDAY!!!!!
Friday August 22 2:49 PM EDT
Company Press Release
FONAR Receives Patent for MRI-Guided Surgery
MELVILLE, N.Y.--(BW HealthWire)--August 22, 1997--Scientific advances are offering new medical possibilities with MRI
scanners. FONAR Corporation (NASDAQ:FONR), a pioneering MRI manufacturer, has just received its first patent for
MRI-guided surgery. The patent includes technology for guiding and performing surgery in an MRI scanner and includes
specific applications for joint surgery.
For the past fifteen years, MRI has been recognized as the superior diagnostic imaging apparatus. MRI can ``see'' soft tissue in
much more detail and clarity than other diagnostic modalities, including x-ray and ultrasound. MRI is now poised to be used as
effectively in surgery and treatment as it has been in the diagnostic arena.
MRI-guided surgery, also known as minimally invasive therapy, has several advantages over traditional surgery. The surgeon
views on the monitor, in real time, the position of the surgical instruments and the neighboring anatomy with remarkable clarity.
FONAR's new patent describes methods and apparatus for guiding invasive therapy in a patient by tracking the path of an
instrument using MRI. MRI-guided surgery is expected to be safer, more accurate, time-saving and less invasive. Recovery
time for patients is expected to be dramatically reduced.
FONAR's revolutionary MRI scanners, the QUAD(tm) 7000 and 12000, are ideally suited for MRI-guided surgery. The
scanners are up to 50% more open than other open scanners. Patients are easily accessible on all sides by surgical teams and
emergency equipment can be positioned next to the scanner -- an impossibility with many other scanners. Most importantly, the
QUAD's patented design fully contains the magnetic field in the scanner's opening, thus the operating surgeon is not subjected
to the high magnetic fields typical of other magnets.
MRI-guided surgery allows an even more advanced technology for joint surgery. According to The American Academy of
Orthopaedic Surgeons, about 26% of all surgeries are on the knees. Arthroscopic surgery is most often used on the joints --
knees, shoulders, wrists and ankles. It employs a miniature camera to perform the surgery. The arthroscope enables the
surgeon to only see the surface of the tissues. It does not permit him to see the tissues below the surface where he must cut.
The MRI allows the tissues beyond the arthroscope's view and beyond the surgeon's view to be seen clearly and in detail.
The full array of MRI applications is just beginning to be fully exploited. MRI-guided surgery should be widely available in the
next few years.
Be sure to visit FONAR's WEB Site for Company product and investor information: fonar.com
This release may include forward-looking statements from the company that may or may not materialize. Additional information
on factors that could potentially affect the company's financial results may be found in the company's filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. |
