Monday November 16, 6:00 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Imatron Announces Shipment of Ultrafast CT Scanner to Rhoen Group's BadBerka Klinikum in Germany
Represents 8th Ultrafast CT Installation in Germany
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Nov. 16, 1998-- Imatron Inc. (Nasdaq:IMAT - news) said today that it has shipped an Ultrafast CT® scanner to the Rhoen-Klinikum Group's Bad Berka Klinikum in Germany. Shipment of Imatron's Ultrafast CT scanner was completed and will be recognized as a sale in the company's fourth fiscal quarter.
The Rhoen-Klinikum Group provides a full spectrum of healthcare services and utilizes state-of-the-art technology for the detection and diagnosis of cardiovascular disease. The Rhoen-Klinikum Group is a publicly traded health care services company that provides over 20% of the cardiac care facilities in Germany. The Rhoen Group reported annual revenues of $457 million and a five-year sales growth rate of 27% and was recently ranked in Forbes' ''Top European Companies.''
Mr. Joachim Manz, Deputy of Rhoen Klinikum AG and head of Bad Berka Klinikum stated, ''As one of the Rhoen Group's areas of emphasis is cardiology, we have long sought to use the more modern technology of EBT scanning as a means to avoid invasive angiography to diagnose heart stenosis. While we had been aware of the capabilities of the Imatron system that had been created by the symbiosis between Imatron and Siemens, a visit to the Imatron installation at the University Klinik at Graz, Austria convinced us of the capabilities and possible uses of an Imatron EBT system.''
Mr. Manz added, ''This provides tremendous progress in the detecting of cardiac stenosis without invasive procedures, providing enormous benefits by both reducing risk to the patient and, also of utmost importance, a reduction of the cost factor in cardiac health care. As there is no hospitalization required for EBT diagnosis, the cost per patient is less, allowing the treatment of a larger number of patients. As this becomes more widely acknowledged and accepted, there could be many more Imatron systems installed in Germany.''
S. Lewis Meyer, Imatron's President and CEO, said, ''We are not only pleased to announce this sale of Imatron's Ultrafast CT scanner to the Bad Berka clinic in Germany, but also this clear vote of confidence in and validation of our proprietary EBT technology. This is the first order received from Europe since the appointment of an Imatron European Sales Director in July 1998. Having recently established a dedicated Imatron sales presence in Europe, we now have the sales
capability to address this significant market and expect to see additional sales progress in Europe.''
Mr. Meyer continued, ''Following the statement by Dr. Matthew J. Budoff, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, at last week's 71 st Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association meeting in Dallas, 'it is now possible to effectively monitor response to therapy using Imatron's EBT to detect and measure coronary artery calcification.' The significance of Bad Berka clinic's choice to utilize the unique CT angiography capability of Imatron's Ultrafast CT scanner as the most accurate and sensitive technology available for the non-invasive detection of heart disease, cannot be overstated as a milestone in our independent sales activity in Europe.''
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:
Imatron Inc.
S. Lewis Meyer, 650/583-9964 (President/CEO)
Gary Brooks, 650/583-9964 (VP Finance/CFO)
Robin Kelley, 650/583-9964 (Investor Relations)
or
Sitrick And Company
Jeffrey Lloyd, 310/788-2850 |
