MAYO scanner order NEWS
Wednesday June 3, 8:30 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Imatron Receives Additional Scanner Order From Mayo Clinic
Represents 4th Scanner Order Since Taking Over Sales and Marketing From Siemens Medical Systems Inc. on April 1, 1998
SO. SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 3, 1998-- Imatron Inc. (Nasdaq: IMAT - news) said today that it has received an order for an Ultrafast CT(R) scanner from the Mayo Clinic. The new state-of-the-art system will replace an existing Ultrafast CT(R) model at the Clinic's St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, maintaining a total of three Imatron systems in clinical operation at the Mayo Clinic. The scanner, which will be shipped and recorded as a sale in the second quarter of 1998, represents the fourth Ultrafast CT(R) scanner order received by Imatron since the Company assumed sales and marketing responsibility from Siemens Medical Systems, Inc. on April 1, 1998.
The Mayo Clinic intends to use the Ultrafast CT(R) scanner for cardiac imaging and other general radiology applications. This placement will provide Mayo physicians with the opportunity to take advantage of Imatron's new 3,456 channel high resolution detector system. This new detector system, a recent product from Imatron's research and development, improves the Ultrafast CT's resolution by almost 40 percent, thus enabling improved imaging performance in neurologic, pulmonary and abdominal scanning applications.
''The sale of this additional scanner to the Mayo Clinic represents further validation, not only of our technology, but also of our domestic marketing capability,'' said S. Lewis Meyer, Imatron's President and Chief Executive Officer. ''Since taking over the marketing of the Ultrafast CT(R) from Siemens effective April 1, 1998, we have already booked four scanners, and continue to have a number of potential sales in various stages of negotiations,'' Mr. Meyer added.
Dr. Tim Welch, diagnostic radiologist at the Mayo Clinic, said, ''This purchase of the latest model Ultrafast CT(R) scanner from Imatron represents a continuation of our long-term commitment to EBCT, not only in pioneering research into new cardiac applications, but also in applying the new technology to everyday diagnostic challenges in body imaging. We look forward to the arrival of this new high resolution system and expect to apply it to a broad range of clinical uses.'' The Company also said that the May issue of the Mayo Clinic's Newsletter, Dialogue, reports that specialists at the Clinic use the scanner to assist physicians in determining the presence of coronary artery disease or the likelihood that a patient will develop the disease.
Dr. Dennis Laudon of the Mayo Clinic said that their results strongly suggest that when a chest-pain patient arrives at the emergency room and has a negative EBCT scan, additional tests can safely be done on an outpatient rather than an in-patient basis. Dr. Laudon added that if EBCT is performed first, rather than other diagnostic tests on patients with no prior history of heart disease, he believes that 20 percent of the overall emergency room costs might be saved.
Imatron Inc. is primarily engaged in designing, manufacturing, marketing, and supporting high performance computed tomography (CT) scanners based on the Company's proprietary scanning electron beam technology. Ultrafast CT(R) is a registered trademark of Imatron. Imatron's Ultrafast CT scanner is now in use at major medical centers around the world, including The Mayo Clinic, University of Iowa, National Institutes of Health, UCLA, Stanford University, University of Illinois, The Royal Brompton Hospital in London, Tokyo University Hospital, Beijing Hospital and the National University Hospital of Singapore. Imatron's HeartScan Imaging Inc. subsidiary provides Coronary Artery Disease Risk Assessment diagnostic services in a nationwide network of clinics.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations and estimates about the industry in which Imatron operates, the estimated impact of certain technological advances, the estimated impact of published research studies on scanner sales and procedures, as well as management's beliefs and assumptions. It is important to note that the Company's actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others: failed clinical demonstration of certain asserted technological advantages and diagnostic capabilities; reliance on product distributors; competition in the diagnostic imaging market; failure to improve product reliability or introduce new product models and enhancements; delays in production and difficulty in obtaining components and sub-assemblies from limited sources of supply; inability to meet cash-on-delivery or prepayment terms from vendors; determinations by regulatory and administrative government authorities; patent expiration and denial of patent applications; the high cost of the scanner as compared to commercially available CT scanners; and the risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including their reports on Form 10-K for their current fiscal year. |
