Imatron Addresses Article Innaccuracies... Stock Up 3/8...
September 5, 1996
Imatron Cites Inaccuracies in September 5th Wall Street Journal
Article
SO. SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Imatron Inc. (Nasdaq: IMAT) said
that a story in today's Wall Street Journal, reporting on the recent Medical/Scientific Statement
issued by the American Heart Association (AHA), contains several inaccuracies, including citing a
part of the Statement that does not exist.
Lewis Meyer, Imatron's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "No where does the AHA
"warn" doctors against using EBCT indiscriminately. Rather, the AHA proposes specific guidelines
for the use of EBCT - guidelines that are consistent with those which are currently in place at
Coronary Artery Disease Risk Assessment Centers operated by Imatron's HeartScan subsidiary,
and other major medical facilities around the country that use the Ultrafast CT(R) scanner to assist
the medical community in the diagnosis and management of coronary artery disease.
"We, too, have consistently maintained that EBCT should not be indiscriminately used as a
screening tool in people under age 40 who do not have symptoms of or known risk factors for
heart disease. EBCT has been demonstrated to be effective in screening individuals over age 40
with either known risk factors for or symptoms of coronary artery disease.
"We are also perplexed by the concluding quote in the article since it is in direct contradiction to
the conclusions of the AHA's Statement, as well as a recent study highlighted in the June issue of
Circulation, the journal of the AHA, which reported that Imatron's Ultrafast CT(R) scanner is
"more powerful than the best non-invasive test in predicting heart attacks and other coronary
disease episodes, even in apparently healthy people."
The Company noted that recognized medical experts in the field have said the following in
connection with the AHA's Statement:
Dr. Alan Guerci, Director of Research at the St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, New York, said,
"Given the overwhelming medical evidence documenting the correlation between coronary
calcification and the amount of atherosclerosis, it was only a matter of time for the AHA to
officially acknowledge the unique role that EBCT can play in quantifying arterial calcification. I was
particularly pleased to see that the AHA now recognizes the diagnostic and prognostic significance
of low and high coronary scores."
Dr. Bruce Brundage, Chief of Cardiology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, stated, "EBCT is
potentially a mammogram of the heart. The new AHA position represents a major step forward in
the detection of coronary artery disease in its early stages when it can be reversed through a
regimen including diet, exercise, and cholesterol-lowering drugs. Because EBCT has been shown
to be sufficiently accurate for predicting the presence of angiographic stenoses somewhere in the
coronary arteries and for predicting the likelihood of clinical endpoints in symptomatic patients, it
can be used as part of a cardiologic examination performed under the supervision of a physician
knowledgeable about the significant of scan results and in the management of coronary heart
disease."
Meyer concluded, "We do not want the inaccuracies and misinformation contained in today's Wall
Street Journal article to in any way discourage or inhibit the American public from taking
advantage of the significant health care benefits to be derived from the Ultrafast CT technology.
Coronary artery disease is the number one cause of death in the United States, resulting in a great
cost to society in both human and financial terms. Imatron will endeavor to make the significant
healthcare benefits of Ultrafast CT(R) technology available to all who can benefit."
/CONTACT: S. Lewis Meyer, President/CEO, or Gary Brooks, VP Finance/CFO,
415-583-9964; or Media/Analysts: Jody Martin or Jeff Lloyd of Sitrick And Company,
310-788-2850/
Jim |
