Tennessee CON Board Approves
FONAR UPRIGHT MRI Unanimously (8-0)
MELVILLE,
NEW YORK, May 2, 2007 - FONAR Corporation (NASDAQ-FONR),
The Inventor of MR Scanning™,
announced today that on April 25, 2007, the Tennessee Certificate of Need (CON)
Board, despite opposition testimony from a competitor, approved
Next Generation MRI's application to purchase and install FONAR's
UPRIGHT™ Multi-Position™ MRI in Nashville by an 8-0
vote. David McCord, M.D., president of Next Generation MRI,
is a
specialist in orthopedic spine surgery and spearheaded the
presentation to the CON board.
Also present at
the hearing were representatives from Soteria Imaging, of Louisville, Kentucky.
Soteria Imaging, a partner in Next Generation MRI, will provide non-medical management
services at the Nashville location. Soteria currently owns and operates two FONAR
UPRIGHT™ Multi-Position™ MRIs in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
This hearing was
Dr. McCord's third attempt to obtain CON approval to install a FONAR UPRIGHT™ MRI
in Nashville. While the CON Board was sympathetic to Dr. McCord's request on
the earlier attempts, competitor diagnostic imaging providers were able to
block the approvals.
At this hearing
Dr. McCord said, "As a spine surgeon who is responsible for my patients'
care, I need the most accurate diagnoses in order to achieve the best surgical
outcomes. In my practice, I have performed thousands of discograms. They're costly
and somewhat dangerous, but they have been necessary. This discogram procedure
and its potential risks to the patient may be decreased by the FONAR UPRIGHT™ MRI." Using
a mannequin, Dr. McCord gave a memorable demonstration to the CON Board of how
a discogram is administered. In order to deliver a dye into
the intervertebral discs, long needles must be used to penetrate the back of
the moderately-sedated patient. Often several "stabs" are required
in order to find the proper spot. Then the patient typically undergoes a CT scan.
"The FONAR
Stand-Up™ MRI," continued Dr. McCord, "may replace some discogram
studies. It's much more cost effective, its high-resolution images are far superior
to those of an X-ray, and it is totally safe. It is especially useful with children
and the elderly population. We surgeons definitely need it."
The hearing included
compelling testimony from a woman whose elderly father significantly benefited
from the FONAR UPRIGHT™ Multi-Position™ MRI. Her father underwent
spine surgery, but the surgery failed and he continued to experience debilitating
pain
in his back, except when lying down. He had several recumbent MRI scans. They
failed to find the problem. He wanted to be scanned on an UPRIGHT™ MRI.
He traveled to Atlanta
where the FONAR UPRIGHT™ Multi-Position™ MRI found the problem. With
the
patient's problem finally identified, he underwent a relatively minor surgical
procedure that helped alleviate the man's pain, allowing him to return to "a
normal life." Dr. McCord said, "It was the FONAR UPRIGHT™ Multi-Position™MRI that found this patient's problem. The other MRI scans were simply a waste
of time and resources. I am looking forward to acquiring this unit for my practice
as soon as possible."
Raymond Damadian,
president and founder of FONAR, said, "We are thankful to Dr. McCord who
has worked hard to obtain a CON for a FONAR UPRIGHT™ Multi-Position™MRI.
We are pleased that one of our UPRIGHT™ MRI scanners will soon be operational
in the prestigious medical market of Nashville, Tennessee."
About FONAR
FONAR® 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™ Multi-Position™ MRI (also known as the
STAND-UP™ MRI), the only whole-body MRI that performs Full Range
of Motion™ (ROM)
Multi-Position™ imaging (mpMRI™) that enables patients to be
scanned in numerous weight-bearing positions, i.e. standing, sitting, in
flexion, in
extension and, in particular, in the position that generates symptoms,
so that a picture can be obtained of the actual pathology giving rise to
the patient's
symptoms (e.g. pain). The scanner also performs all the scans of a conventional
MRI with the patients in the usual lie-down position. The FONAR UPRIGHT™ Full
Range of Motion™ (ROM) Multi-Position™ MRI often sees the patient's
problem that other scanners cannot, because they are lie-down only. Approximately
85% of patients are scanned sitting while they watch a 42" flat screen
TV.
#
The Inventor of MR Scanning™,
Full Range of Motion™, STAND-UP™, UPRIGHT™,
Multi-Position™, pMRI™, True Flow™, Walk-In™ and
The Proof is in the Picture™ are trademarks of FONAR Corporation.
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's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
###
FONAR™ Corporation
110 Marcus Drive
Melville, N.Y. 11747
Tel. 631-694-2929
Fax. 631-390-9540
Email sales@FONAR.com
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