Fonar Corp (FONR)

[Golden Cross]

FONAR Upright Multi-Position MRI Gains Traction in Medical Community with New Sale to Neurosurgical Practice

MELVILLE, N.Y.--(Business Wire)--FONAR Corporation (NASDAQ:FONR), The Inventor of MR Scanning,
announced today a sale to a spine and brain medical practice in the
Western U.S. The customer has chosen to remain anonymous for
competitive reasons.

Through the sales process with FONAR's latest customer, it was
learned that their need was to go beyond the traditional limitations
of conventional recumbent MRI scanners in their neurosurgical
practice. While MRI is the best technology to "see" the soft tissue of
the spine, until now, surgeons have only had single-position,
weightless-spine, recumbent MRI scanners available to them.
Neurosurgeons recognize that much of the time those recumbent MRI
images do not correlate with the patient's clinical symptoms or with
what they see at the operating table. Moreover, if the
single-position, weightless-spine MRI shows an incomplete picture of
the patient's pathology, then the surgeon has the prospect of choosing
the wrong procedure to correct the patient's problem thereby resulting
in a patient with "Failed Back Surgery Syndrome", currently designated
clinically as the FBSS syndrome. That problem has been markedly
improved by the new availability of FONAR's Upright(TM)
Multi-Position(TM) MRI scanner and its ability to generate dynamic MRI
images visualizing the spine fully weight-loaded and in multiple
positions unlike the static weightless spine images provided by
conventional recumbent MRIs.
www.fmri.ch/download/failed_spine_2004.pdf

An important feature of the FONAR Upright(TM) Multi-Position(TM)
MRI is its image quality, which contributed to securing this latest
sale. The purchasing surgeon had a distinguished athlete as a patient.
The patient had a spine problem that could not be diagnosed in a
conventional MRI. The surgeon sent the patient to a FONAR Upright(TM)
Multi-Position(TM) MRI that successfully visualized the patient's
pathology so it could be surgically corrected. The FONAR magnet is
gaining recognition for its excellent image quality, which at .6T is
comparable to, if not sometimes superior to, the 1.5 Tesla scanners
from other manufacturers.

Since its introduction in 2001, the FONAR Upright(TM)
Multi-Position(TM) MRI is by far the most patient-friendly scanner on
the market. Many patients object to being scanned in the traditional
cylinder scanner because of claustrophobia; in fact, some patients are
unable to complete an exam. Now, with the near-zero claustrophobic
rejection rate of the FONAR Upright(TM) Multi-Position(TM) MRI,
patients can be scanned without fear or discomfort. This may also lead
to more thorough medical examinations.

"For this Neurosurgical practice, it is crucial to evaluate
patients in the positions that show the pathology, said Raymond
Damadian, M.D., president and founder of FONAR. "Once the scanner is
installed, patients can be scanned in their symptomatic positions
enabling their doctors to choose the most appropriate surgical
procedure to correct their symptomatology. The conventional static
weightless recumbent MRI is unable to evaluate the DYNAMIC spine in
the configurations that generate the patient's symptoms. FONAR is
increasingly working with hospitals and doctors that specialize in
spinal surgery for the development of new innovative techniques so
that they earn the reputation as the "Center of Excellence For Spine
Care" in their community."

Recently Dr. Paul Pavlov, a Director of the St. Maartenskliniek,
the largest orthopedic hospital in the Netherlands, and Chairman of
its internationally acclaimed Spine Center, said, "we concluded that
once FONAR made available upright weight-bearing MRI imaging
technology, owning one for the St. Maartenskliniek Spine Center was
not optional, but mandatory. For our hospital to continue to engage in
spine surgery without it, once this new technology became available,
was unacceptable." www.fonar.com/news/091306a.htm

About FONAR

FONAR(R) was incorporated in 1978, making it the first, oldest and
most experienced MRI manufacturer in the industry. FONAR introduced
the world's first commercial MRI in 1980, and went public in 1981.
Since its inception, FONAR has installed hundreds of MRI scanners
worldwide. Their stellar product line includes the FONAR UPRIGHT(TM)
MULTI-POSITION(TM) MRI (also known as the Stand-Up(TM) MRI), the only
whole-body MRI that performs Multi-Position(TM) imaging (mpMRI(TM) and
scans patients in numerous weight-bearing positions, i.e. standing,
sitting, in flexion and extension, as well as the conventional
lie-down position. The FONAR UPRIGHT(TM) MULTI-POSITION(TM) MRI often
sees the patient's problem that other scanners cannot because they are
lie-down only. With nearly one half million patients scanned, the
patient-friendly FONAR UPRIGHT(TM) MULTI-POSITION(TM) MRI has a near
zero claustrophobic rejection rate by patients. A radiologist said,
"FONAR UPRIGHT(TM) MRI - No More Claustrophobia - The Tunnel Is Gone."
As another FONAR customer states, "If the patient is claustrophobic in
this scanner, they'll be claustrophobic in my parking lot."
Approximately 85% of patients are scanned sitting while they watch a
42" flat screen TV. FONAR's latest MRI scanner is the FONAR 360(TM), a
room-size recumbent scanner that optimizes openness while facilitating
physician access to the patient. FONAR is headquartered on Long
Island, New York, and has approximately 400 employees.

The Inventor of MR Scanning(TM), True Flow(TM) MRI, Stand-Up(TM)
MRI, FONAR UPRIGHT(TM) MRI, Position(TM) MRI, PMRI(TM) and The Proof
is in the Picture(TM) are trademarks of FONAR(R) Corporation.

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 filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.

FONAR Corporation
Daniel Culver, Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
http://www.fonar.com
[e-mail]

Copyright Business Wire 2006
07Nov06 12:15 GMT
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