HERE IT IS!!!
Imatron's Coronary Artery Scan Definitively Predicts Heart Disease in Women
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Nov. 11, 1998--
University of Pittsburgh's "Healthy Women Study" Presented at American Heart Association Meeting and Featured on CBS Evening News With Dan
Rather
Imatron Inc. (Nasdaq: IMAT) announced today that a University of Pittsburgh study presented on November 10, 1998 at the 71st American Heart Association meeting in Dallas found that Imatron's electron beam tomography (EBT) technology accurately predicts the development of life threatening heart disease in women. The 15-year study, supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, revealed that Imatron's EBT technology can predict with remarkable accuracy those women in their 40s and 50s, with no clinical signs of atherosclerosis, who will ultimately develop heart disease.
Lewis Kuller, M.D., Dr.P.H., principal investigator on this research and Chairman of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health, said, "The results from this prospective study are striking. Heart disease should be absolutely preventable in women whose profiles predict this complication. Ultimately, this work could reduce the physical and financial toll heart disease incurs."
Daniel Edmundowicz, M.D., and Co-director of Preventative Cardiology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Cardiovascular Institute, said, "EBT provides an exceptionally accurate picture of subclinical atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries and aorta of postmenopausal women. EBT is a widely underutilized tool that can be effectively applied in a preventive setting to aid in the management of heart disease, which is the number one killer of women in the United States."
The Healthy Women Study is the first to assess the relationship between heart disease risk factors measured before the onset of menopause, and the magnitude of subclinical disease in the coronary arteries and aorta as measured after menopause utilizing Imatron's Ultrafast CT. EBT definitively predicted heart disease in postmenopausal women with exceptional accuracy. In essence, it is now possible to identify those women who are unknowingly at high risk for heart disease who may benefit from appropriate intervention, thereby potentially reducing the incidence of high risk and expensive invasive procedures, heart attacks and ultimately cardiac death.
S. Lewis Meyer, President and CEO of Imatron, said, "This study tells us that it is entirely possible to predict, with almost 100% accuracy, those women without high risk factors who will eventually develop significant atherosclerosis. This year alone, six times as many women will die from coronary artery disease as will die from breast cancer. The early detection of heart disease utilizing Imatron's non-invasive Ultrafast CT, and appropriate intervention, could be a significant contributor toward a major reduction in this leading cause of death among women in the United States."
Mr. Meyer added, "The results of the Healthy Women Study adds to the preponderance of evidence supporting the preventive benefits of EBT. The coronary artery scan by Ultrafast CT is unique among diagnostic tests for heart disease in that it is equally effective in both women and men. Most cardiac diagnostic tests exhibit significantly reduced accuracy and effectiveness in women. As the medical community and major insurance providers further embrace EBT as the 'mammogram of the heart', we expect to broaden awareness of and accessibility to this life-saving technology."
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 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 Arizona Heart Institute, The Royal Brompton Hospital in London, Tokyo University Hospital and Beijing Hospital.
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.
CONTACT:
S. Lewis Meyer, 650/583-9964
Gary Brooks, 650/583-9964
Robin Kelley, 650/583-9964
or
Sitrick And Company
Jeffrey Lloyd, 310/788-2850
KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA PENNSYLVANIA
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