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IPO Education Foundation Honors Top Inventor of 2007

Upright(TM) MRI Inventor Recognized for Patented Innovation on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2007 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation today announced the winner of the 2007 National Inventor of the Year Award. The program, now in its 34th year, honors the spirit of American innovation and the protection offered to inventors by the patent system. Dr. Raymond V. Damadian will be recognized for his breakthrough in diagnostic medicine tonight on Capitol Hill.

Professor Raymond Damadian, M.D. is currently President and Chairman of FONAR Corporation ( FONR ), Melville, New York. Dr. Damadian is being recognized for his development of Upright(TM) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology. This invention allows physicians to image patients in various weight-bearing positions in order to view tissues or analyze the spine, joints, or bones for fractures under the strain of normal use rather than in a prone position. The device also allows doctors to image the cardiovascular system when the body is upright and blood is being propelled against gravity.

The system is equipped with an MRI-compatible motorized patient handling system that moves the patient into the magnet and places the anatomy of interest into the center of the magnet gap. It also can rotate the vertically- oriented patient into a horizontal position so the patient can be scanned lying down as in conventional MRI scanning.

The Upright MRI scanner can examine any part of the body under its normal functional load. This is particularly useful given the human body and its many components are dynamic. Upright MRI can scan a patient in virtually any position that reproduces pain or other symptoms. From the patient's perspective, the scanner's open configuration may make MRI imaging more comfortable.

"We are delighted to honor Dr. Damadian with this award," said IPO Foundation President Harry J. Gwinnell. "His contributions to the field of magnetic resonance imaging, particularly with the Upright(TM) MRI technology for which we salute him today, have been critical in advancing modern medicine's diagnostic and treatment capabilities."

Currently, Dr. Damadian has patents pending on a 360 degree or "room size" MRI, which allows surgeons complete access to a patient in the operating room during MRI scans, providing immediate diagnostic analysis of the surgery and allowing a surgeon to see images of the tissues as surgery is being performed. In this fashion, surgeons will be able to adapt operational procedures and techniques and can view lesions such as tumors in detail to be certain that they have removed 100% of the diseased tissue. The first of these devices was installed in January 2006 by FONAR Corporation, which Dr. Damadian founded in 1978, at Oxford University in England. Further research is underway.

IPO Education Foundation, in conjunction with Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), is at the forefront of not only educating consumers about the patent process but ensuring that the rights of patent holders are protected. IPO is the only association in the United States that serves all intellectual property owners in all industries and all fields of technology.

Presented by IPO Foundation, the Inventor of the Year award is the best known honor for recent American inventors, having gone previously to those responsible for the development of the Jarvik Seven Artificial Heart, Bose speaker technology and other patented breakthrough inventions.

The Inventor of the Year ceremony will take place tonight in the Caucus Room at the Cannon House Office Building. Interested press can attend by contacting Samantha Grover at 202-521-6730.

About IPO Education Foundation

Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation, a non-profit subsidiary of Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), was established in 2005 to educate the public on the importance of intellectual property rights to the national and global economies. IPO Foundation conducts programs to:


-- Broaden public understanding of systems for protecting intellectual
property

-- Sponsor awards for the purpose of recognizing outstanding achievement
in the fields of invention, creativity, and IP rights

-- Publish reports dealing with legal, economic, and other aspects of
intellectual property



Donations to the foundation by individuals are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. To find out more about IPO Education Foundation programs or how to make a donation, call 202/466-2396.

SOURCE Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation

Samantha Grover of Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation,
[phone], [e-mail]; or Daniel Culver of FONAR Corporation,
[phone], [e-mail]

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