First FONAR Stand-Up MRI Operational (Press Release) Thursday May 10, 1:01 am Eastern Time
Press Release
First FONAR Stand-Up MRI Operational
Greater Washington D.C. Area Home to World's Only Whole-Body
Weight-Bearing MRI
MELVILLE, N.Y.--(BW HealthWire)--May 10, 2001--FONAR Corporation
(NASDAQ-FONR), The Patient-Friendly(TM) MRI Company, announced today that its
first Stand-Up MRI(TM), Indomitable(TM) has been installed and is now operational at
Washington Open MRI in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Phyllis Newfield, president of Washington Open MRI, Inc., said, ``We have five Open MRI
sites in Maryland that have been successful primarily because we can accommodate patients
that can't fit into or tolerate the claustrophobic environment of other MRI scanners. Now
Indomitable(TM), our sixth scanner, brings us to the next level, giving us a substantial
advantage in a very competitive marketplace. Not only is it remarkably open, but it also
uniquely provides the ability to perform weight-bearing studies. Physicians naturally want to
see anatomy when the patients are standing erect in their positions of pain, not when they're
lying down in a non-weight-bearing position. Now, for the first time, they will be able to see
what they always wanted to see - things that could go undetected on conventional horizontal
scanners. We expect a good portion of our future business will be weight-bearing MRI
studies of the lumbar spine, cervical spine, knees and ankles. All indications from referring
physicians in the community have been very positive; they've been eagerly awaiting our
opening.''
Raymond V. Damadian, M.D., president and chairman of FONAR Corporation, said,
``Washington Open MRI is now the showcase for the world's only Stand-Up MRI(TM) so
it's a very important milestone for the company. We believe that we've just scratched the
surface in terms of the potential for this scanner. Now that we have the machine in a busy
clinical environment, we're eager to see it reach its full potential.''
Ms. Newfield added, ``We're very excited about having the world's very first Stand-Up
MRI(TM). It's working extremely well and the images are outstanding. We have an excellent
relationship with FONAR and we look forward to working hand-in-hand with them in the
future. Of course, it's particularly gratifying to me that my community, the greater
Washington, D.C. area, is going to be the very first in the country to benefit from this remarkable medical device.''
With the exception of the Stand-Up MRI(TM), all of today's whole-body MRI scanners are ``lie-down scanners,'' i.e. they can only scan patients in horizontal positions. Indomitable(TM) is unique in that it can also scan patients standing up and sitting down, making it the only whole- body MRI scanner that can perform positional MRI (pMRI). The FDA approved Indomitable(TM) for marketing eight months ago. In August, 2000, General Electric Medical Systems and FONAR announced an agreement whereby General Electric will sell FONAR's Stand-Up MRI(TM).
Be sure to visit FONAR's Web site for Company product and investor information.
www.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.
Contact:
Daniel Culver, Director of Communications
David Terry, VP, Secretary
631/694-2929
Fax: 631/390-9540
E-mail: investor@fonar.com |
