Siemens Unveils World's First High Definition PET-CT, Providing Unprecedented Clarity Through Entire Field Of View

Just as the clarity of high definition television has transformed the entertainment world, Siemens Medical Solutions is redefining the quality of molecular imaging with the introduction of high definition positron emission tomography. Siemens has unveiled HD PET, the world's first and only high definition PET technology to offer consistently sharper and clearly defined images across the entire field of view beginning of June 2007 in the USA. "As the leading innovator in molecular imaging, Siemens raises the bar in innovation yet again by adding high definition to the Biograph TruePoint family of hybrid PET CT systems," said Michael Reitermann, president, Molecular Imaging, Siemens Medical Solutions. "The clarity of HD PET will provide greater specificity and accuracy and will enable physicians to more confidently delineate small lesions - including those in lymph nodes, abdomen, head and neck, and brain- to provide earlier, more targeted treatment."

The clarity achieved by HD PET is the result of a unique and proprietary technology that optimizes the elements of image uniformity, resolution and contrast - that together change the whole picture." The uniform resolution provided by HD PET throughout the field-of-view is a significant step in improving PET image quality," said David Townsend, PhD, director, Molecular Imaging and Translational Research Program, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, who has worked with Siemens while testing the new HD PET technology. "Historically with PET imaging, intrinsic image quality has been known to degrade with increasing distance from the center of the scanner. HD PET eliminates this effect thus providing increased diagnostic confidence to more accurately resolve peripheral lesions. This, in turn, could potentially improve staging of disease and hence clinical outcome."

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PET Scan Shows During Treatment If Radiation Is Shrinking Lung Tumor

Lung cancer patients may not need to wait till their radiation treatment is over to know if it worked. A PET scan several weeks after starting radiation treatment for lung cancer can indicate whether the tumor will respond to the treatment, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Traditionally, PET, or positron emission tomography, has been used after radiation treatment for lung cancer to assess whether the tumor responded to treatment and whether the patients will have a chance of being cured. Using PET several weeks into treatment, researchers found a strong correlation between tumor responses during treatment and response three months after completion of the treatment. This could potentially allow doctors to change the radiation treatment plan before treatment ends to improve the outcome.

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Physicians Who Use FONAR UPRIGHT(TM) MRI Testify to the Unique Benefits

MELVILLE, NY -- 07/12/07 -- FONAR Corporation (NASDAQ: FONR), The Inventor of MR Scanning(TM), reported today that physicians who use the FONAR UPRIGHT(TM) MRI are testifying to the unique benefits of the technology in patient care. They are appearing in 2-page color advertisements in the peer-reviewed journal 'Radiology,' published by the Radiologic Society of North America.

The physicians are introduced with the headline, "Why So Many Surgeons Are Buying the FONAR UPRIGHT(TM) MRI." Then they speak for themselves.

The testimonials of the prominent surgeons and leading radiologists are also appearing in advertisements in numerous other major medical magazines, including The Journal of the American Medical Association, Spine, Radiology, Diagnostic Imaging, The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedics and the Journal of Neurology.

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PET-CT Scanners Prone To Generating False-Positive Results In Atherosclerosis

Current PET-CT scanners with standard commercial software designed to provide images of the heart are falsely indicating coronary artery disease in as many as 40 percent of patients, according to a study published on the cover page of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Lead author K. Lance Gould, M.D., professor in the Division of Cardiology at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, said he discovered the abnormalities upon his initial use of cardiac PET-CT scanners in the Weatherhead P.E.T. Center For Preventing and Reversing Atherosclerosis at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center.

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