Fonar Corp (FONR)

[ProfitScout]

FONAR Upright(TM) MRI Sales Take Off - 7 Sales in 2 Weeks - While Competitor Recumbent MRI Sales Decline

MELVILLE, N.Y., Jul 10, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- FONAR Corporation (NASDAQ-FONR), The Inventor of MR Scanning(TM), reported today that the company has sold Seven UPRIGHT(TM) Multi-Position(TM) MRIs during the previous two weeks. By contrast, since this year began, sales by other MRI manufacturers have declined, with one major company reporting a quarterly imaging sales decline including MRI of $150 million.

A June 26, 2007, article in the Wall Street Journal online titled "Medicare Cuts Hurt Sales of Imaging Equipment," indicated that "the Medicare payment changes... sent sales of scanners (including MRI) made by GE, Siemens AG, Toshiba Corp. and others tumbling more than 20% last quarter, according to data provided by an industry group." See: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20070625-711291.html and http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2007/06/26/medicare-cuts-hurt-sales-of-Ima ging-equipment/ (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.).

In recent weeks, FONAR has noted an overall increase in interest in its UPRIGHT(TM) MRI product. Raymond V. Damadian, president and founder of FONAR said, "A noticeable surge in interest and activity has come our way. It concluded with seven new sales that occurred in the last two weeks."

"I think," said Dr. Damadian, "that the dramatic spike in FONAR UPRIGHT(TM) sales reflects the realization by current MRI users that when competing for scans the FONAR UPRIGHT(TM) has a unique advantage that distinguishes it from the great majority of other MRI scanners, which are recumbent only. These scanners cannot achieve the needed UPRIGHT(TM) Multi-Position images that the FONAR scanner can. This advantage is significant in light of the reduced reimbursement reported by the Wall Street Journal for MRI scans in general."

"I think it's clear," said Dr. Damadian, "that for those medical professionals who recognize the need for FONAR's UPRIGHT(TM) Multi-Position(TM) technology, the current depression in the sales of recumbent MRI scanners reported by the Wall Street Journal is irrelevant. The reason is, the FONAR UPRIGHT(TM) is essential to good spine surgery outcomes and patient care. A traditional recumbent non-weight-bearing MRI will often miss a patient's spine pathology. A surgeon who knows he needs 'electric lights' to see the patient's problem realizes the depressed sales of 'gas lights' (recumbent MRIs) are not relevant."

"Approximately 1,000,000 patients undergo spine surgery in the U.S. each year," said Dr. Damadian. "In my view all of these patients should be imaged in an UPRIGHT(TM) MRI scanner before surgery, in order to be sure important pathology is not being missed that could cause the wrong surgery to be performed."

The sales also followed the designation of the UPRIGHT(TM) MRI as the 2007 invention of the year by the Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation. Previous winners include the Jarvik artificial heart and the Bose stereo speakers.

Among the recent FONAR sales was an UPRIGHT(TM) MRI sale in London, as reported on July 5.

By the end of the June, FONAR had sold 150 UPRIGHT(TM) Multi-Position(TM) MRIs. In addition, 120 UPRIGHT(TM) MRIs had been installed.

About FONAR

The 2007 National Inventor of the Year Award was presented to president and founder Raymond Damadian, M.D., by the Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation ( www.ipoef.org ) for the INVENTION of the FONAR UPRIGHT(TM) Multi-Position(TM) MRI (also known as the STAND-UP(TM) MRI). It's the world's only whole-body MRI that scans patients in numerous weight-bearing positions; i.e., standing, sitting, flexion, extension, and lateral bending, as well as the conventional lie-down position. An abundance of peer-reviewed literature reporting the essentiality of Upright Imaging for accurately diagnosing the human body can be found at: www.uprightmripublications.com and www.fonar.com/research_index.htm

With one half million patients scanned, the patient-friendly FONAR UPRIGHT(TM) Multi-Position(TM) MRI has a near zero claustrophobic rejection rate by patients. Approximately 85% of patients are scanned sitting while they watch a 42" flat screen TV. Another MRI, the FONAR 360(TM), is a room-size recumbent scanner that optimizes openness while facilitating physician access to the patient.

The FONAR legacy began in 1970 when company founder Raymond V. Damadian, M.D., discovered marked T1 and T2 signal differences between normal tissues and cancer tissues and between various kinds of normal tissues.

This discovery gave rise to the idea by Dr. Damadian to build a body scanner based on NMR (MR) to search for cancer deposits* within the human body. His discovery of the MR scanner and the first method to achieve an MR scan was patented by him in 1972 and protected by the United States Supreme Court in 1997.

Thirty years ago, on July 3, 1977, Dr. Damadian, along with the assistance of his two graduate students, Larry Minkoff, Ph.D., and Michael Goldsmith, Ph.D., achieved the world's first MRI image of a live human being on the world's first MRI scanner which they built and named 'Indomitable.' FONAR, which built and installed the world's first commercial MRI in 1980, is celebrating 30 years of technological leadership in the MRI industry. Visit: www.fonar.com/history.htm

FONAR is headquartered on Long Island, New York, and has approximately 400 employees.

* MR scanners are used widely today to detect pathological tissues of all types with MR images.

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

Be sure to visit FONAR's Website for 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


CONTACT: FONAR Corporation
Daniel Culver, 631-694-2929
Fax: [phone]
http://www.fonar.com
[e-mail]


Copyright Business Wire 2007