Intermagnetics' Invivo Subsidiary Awarded $500,000 Federal Grant to Develop Advanced MRI System to Diagnose, Treat Brain Injuri
April 11 2006 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Invivo Partners With Office of Naval Research to Devise Substantial
Improvement in Caring for Casualties From Overseas Combat Zones
LATHAM, N.Y., April 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Intermagnetics
General Corporation (NASDAQ:IMGC) today announced that its
subsidiary, Invivo Corporation, has been awarded a $500,000
Department of Defense grant to develop an integrated hardware and
software system that will enable high-resolution magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) of traumatic brain injuries and promote substantially
more effective diagnosis and treatment in many difficult cases.
Invivo is partnering with the Office of Naval Research on the
project. Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) is scheduled to formally
announce the award during an appearance at Invivo's Gainesville,
Florida facility today at 9:00 AM EDT. "Brain injury is the second
leading cause of battlefield deaths, and this grant is intended to
provide a means of diagnosis and treatment that, in many cases, is
not totally reliable under current procedures," Stearns said. "We
owe it to our wounded military personnel returning from combat duty
to have the best possible care available." Tom Schubert, chief
technology officer of Invivo, added: "We believe Invivo's advanced
MRI radio frequency coils, which enable highly detailed
organ-specific imaging, combined with modifications to our
innovative DynaCad computer-aided diagnostic system will provide
the solution the military is seeking. "Currently," Schubert added,
"computed tomography (CT) is the main radiological tool for
diagnosing traumatic brain injury patients. Yet every radiologist
is aware that CT's effectiveness in assessing brain trauma is
limited to visualizing fractures and significant hematomas but is
ineffective in diagnosing more subtle injuries. "For example, CT
does not provide the fine soft tissue discrimination required to
localize and investigate small white matter lesions, such as the
shear lesions and micro-bleedings that are common in traumatic or
concussive brain injury. Nor can CT be used in the investigation of
subarachnoidal hemorrhage. Subarachnoidal hemorrhages must be fully
investigated in a very timely fashion, or they may lead to
extremely dangerous secondary strokes." Schubert noted that the
Invivo solution would be used in the highest-field MRI systems
available, such as those powered by Intermagnetics' 3.0 Tesla
magnets. Invivo, working with the Office of Naval Research, expects
to deliver evaluation models of both the advanced imaging hardware
and the analysis software this year. Naval neurologists,
neurosurgeons, and traumatic brain injury specialists will conduct
scientific and clinical evaluation of the prototypes.
Intermagnetics (http://www.intermagnetics.com/) draws on the
financial strength, operational excellence and technical leadership
in the market of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), as well as its
expanding businesses within Medical Devices that encompass Invivo
Diagnostic Imaging (focusing on MRI components & imaging
sub-systems) and Invivo Patient Care (focusing on monitoring &
other patient care devices). Intermagnetics is also a prominent
participant in superconducting applications for Energy Technology.
The company has a 35-year history as a successful developer,
manufacturer and marketer of superconducting materials, high-field
magnets, medical systems & components and other specialized
high-value added devices. Safe Harbor Statement: The statements
contained in this press release that are not historical fact are
"forward-looking statements" which involve various important
assumptions, risks, uncertainties and other factors. These
forward-looking statements are based on currently available
competitive, financial and economic data and management's views and
assumptions regarding future events. Such forward-looking
statements are inherently uncertain and are subject to risks,
including but not limited to: the company's ability to meet the
performance, quality and price requirements of our customers,
develop new products and maintain gross margin levels through
continued production cost reductions and manufacturing
efficiencies; the company's ability to avoid the potential adverse
impact of competitive emerging patents; as well as other risks and
uncertainties set forth herein and in the company's Annual Report
on Forms 10-K and 10-Q. Except for the company's continuing
obligation to disclose material information under federal
securities law, the company is not obligated to update its
forward-looking statements even though situations may change in the
future. The company qualifies all of its forward-looking statements
by these cautionary statements. DATASOURCE: Intermagnetics General
Corporation CONTACT: Cathy Yudzevich, IR Manager of Intermagnetics
General Corporation, +1-518-782-1122 Web site:
http://www.intermagnetics.com/
Copyright
Intermagnetics General (NASDAQ:IMGC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Intermagnetics General (NASDAQ:IMGC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024