Fonar Corp (FONR)

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'National Inventor of the Year Award' Goes to Raymond V. Damadian, M.D., for the Invention of the FONAR UPRIGHT(TM) Multi-Position(TM) MRI

MELVILLE, N.Y., Jun 19, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- FONAR Corporation (NASDAQ-FONR), The Inventor of MR Scanning(TM), announced today that the Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation (IPO Education Foundation) has selected FONAR president and founder Professor Raymond V. Damadian, M.D., as the 34th winner of the 'National Inventor of the Year Award' for the invention of the FONAR UPRIGHT(TM) Multi-Position(TM) MRI. The award was presented to Dr. Damadian at the Caucus Room, Cannon House Office Building of Congress, Washington, DC. It was presented by The Honorable Congressman Howard L. Berman (D-Calif.), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property.

The IPO Education Foundation 'National Inventor of the Year Award' has previously been presented to such distinguished inventors as Robert Jarvik, M.D., for the Jarvik Seven artificial heart, (1983), and Amar G. Bose and William R. Short, Bose Corporation, for the Bose folded acoustic waveguide loudspeaker system, (1987).


On the podium was 'Distinguished Guest' Dr. Donald B. Keck, Co-developer of Optical Waveguide Fibers (Fiber Optics) and Harry J. Gwinnell, President of the IPO Education Foundation. The IPO Education Foundation, based in Washington D.C., is a non-profit subsidiary of the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO). The award presentation was attended by approximately 200 people, mostly members of the IPO.

Congressman Berman said "The Upright(TM) MRI scanner can examine any part of the body under its normal functional load. This is particularly useful in diagnosing patients whose pain or other symptoms occur only the way they are in specific positions. It also allows doctors to image the cardiovascular system when the body is upright and blood is being propelled against gravity. The scanner's open configuration will provide better patient comfort during MRI imaging and will be a more effective tool for patient treatment. Dr. Raymond Damadian, Congratulations for this extraordinary achievement. I am very honored and pleased to present you the 'National Inventor of the Year' plaque and award."

"We are delighted to honor Dr. Damadian with this award," said IPO Education 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."

"I am pleased to accept this award from the IPO Education Foundation. There are many people I have to thank for this honor," said Dr. Damadian. "This award is possible because of the invention of the FONAR UPRIGHT(TM) Multi-Position(TM) MRI and is rightfully shared with the FONAR team, a majority who have been with the Company for more than a decade and a half. It is their hard work and genius that created this medical marvel which is revolutionizing diagnostic medicine. It is all of us who contributed to the FONAR UPRIGHT(TM) Multi-Position(TM) MRI who should be proud of this 'Invention of the Year'." Photographs from the event can be seen at: www.fonar.com/news/061907.htm

In 1989, Dr. Damadian was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, now in Akron, Ohio, for the invention of the MR scanner (visit: www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/36.html). Ms. Rini Paiva, Executive Director of the National Inventors Hall of Fame said, "The inventors who have been inducted all contributed greatly to the way we live our lives, and Dr. Damadian is among those who continues to invent and change the way we live. Now, 18 years since being inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for revolutionizing the field of diagnostic medicine with the invention of the MRI, he has again revolutionized the field of diagnostic medicine with the invention of the Upright(TM) MRI."

Dr. Damadian has received widespread recognition for his inventiveness. In 2004, he received The Benjamin Franklin Medal and The Bower Award for Business Leadership from the Franklin Institute, (visit: www.fonar.com/2004_bower_award.htm). In 1988, President Ronald Reagan awarded Dr. Damadian the National Medal of Technology, the nation's highest honor in technology, for the invention of the MRI (visit: www.fonar.com/medaloftech.htm).

Dr. Damadian remarked about the United States Patent, "It is the only property right to the citizens of America that is included in the U.S. Constitution itself. Our founding fathers viewed the patent as a right of citizenship so consequential to the well being of the new republic as to immortalize it in the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8) and rank it in significance alongside the "Blessing of Liberty," the right to make laws, the right to collect taxes, and the right to empower armed forces."

"Indeed," said Dr. Damadian, "except for the U.S. Patent there might well be no MRI today. The prospect of a patent to generate revenues enabled me to depart from my academic research and develop a practical application of that research, mainly an NMR body scanner (MRI), whose invention and construction would be able to assure the funding needed to continue that research into the future."


A photo gallery of the IPO Education Foundation National Inventor of
the Year event at the Cannon House Office Building, featuring many
notable attendees, is on the Web.
Visit: www.ipoef.org
Select: "National Inventor of the Year Award"
Select: "Photo Gallery"



About the IPO and IPO Education Foundation

The Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), established in 1972, is a trade association for owners of patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets and has been selecting the "National Inventor of the Year" for its highest honor for 34 years. The IPO is the only association in the U.S. that serves all intellectual property owners in all industries and all fields of technology. The membership of the Intellectual Property Owners Association includes many law firms and attorneys specializing in patent law, as well as large and mid-size companies, small businesses, universities, inventors, authors and executives. For more information visit: www.ipo.org

The Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation, founded in 2005, is a non-profit subsidiary of the IPO. It hosts today, the Inventor of the Year Award program to promote public awareness of current inventors and how they benefit the nation's economy and our quality of life. It is devoted to educational and charitable activities designed to improve intellectual property rights (patents, trademarks, copyrights). The IPO Education Foundation conducts programs to broaden public understanding of systems for protecting these vital property rights of American citizens, which America's founders immortalized when they included patent law in the constitution (Article 1, Section 8). For more information visit: www.ipoef.org

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), Full Range of Motion(TM), STAND-UP(TM), UPRIGHT(TM), Multi-Position(TM), pMRI(TM), True Flow(TM), and The Proof is in the Picture(TM) are trademarks of FONAR 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.

SOURCE: FONAR Corporation

FONAR Corporation
Daniel Culver, 631-694-2929
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http://www.fonar.com
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Copyright Business Wire 2007