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Imatron EBT Coronary Artery Scan Detects Atherosclerosis in Apparently Healthy Subjects with No Standard Cardio Vascular Risk Factors So. San Francisco, Calif., March 6, 2001 Imatron Inc. (Nasdaq: IMAT) today announced that the American Heart Association's 41 st Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention held in San Antonio, Texas, February 28 through March 3, 2001 featured a major, milestone presentation by Dr. Jerel M. Zoltick from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Dr. Zoltick's study determined that the electron beam tomography (EBT) coronary artery scan (Imatron's proprietary scanning technology) clearly defined a subgroup of seemingly healthy patients at high-risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) that was not identified by standard coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors. The EBT coronary artery scan was able to identify people at high risk of a heart attack or other cardiovascular event even though they were fit, athletic, healthy, did not smoke and were free of diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. Dr. Zoltick's study group consisted of a large group of 436 asymptomatic senior military officers (400 males, 36 females) whose ages ranged from 33 to 56 years (mean age 43.5 + 3.2 years). In addition to receiving an EBT coronary artery scan, this relatively young study group also underwent extensive cardiovascular and fitness assessments, including exercise treadmill testing, a resting electrocardiogram, medical fitness and nutritional histories, blood lipid profiles and fasting blood sugar measurements. Dr. Zoltick commented, "The absolute magnitude of each individual patient's 'calcium score' was not predicted by the degree of risk factor abnormalities. Of the highest scorers, almost all of them did have at least one risk factor. But the problem is, we would have a person with a score of 25, and we would have another, with exactly the same risk factors, with a score of 1000. The fact that we found such a tremendous amount of variability in the calcium scores is very shocking." Dr. Zoltick also stated, "I've been very aggressive
in my management for decades, and I think that by being very aggressive,
we have slowed down the death rate. I'm now very aggressive with patients
who have a calcium score of 40. I can start them on medications, keep
them on aspirin, keep their LDL way down with statins. I definitely feel
that an EBCT scan is an extremely good test to add to a regular physical
exam, especially for people with a family history of early heart disease." S. Lewis Meyer, Imatron's CEO, said, "These results
from Dr. Zoltick at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, specifically in this
group of apparently healthy individuals, are positively astounding. The
medical community, specifically primary care physicians, internists and
cardiologists, has struggled for decades to determine who is at greatest
risk of heart disease and, therefore, would benefit most from aggressive
treatment. Coronary heart disease is clearly a complex process with no
easy answers - not simply cholesterol reduction, increasing physical fitness,
stopping smoking or dietary management. Study after study has clearly
demonstrated that the EBT coronary artery scan accurately measures even
small calcium deposits in the coronary arteries. The presence and extent
of this coronary artery calcium is clearly indicative of atherosclerotic
plaque in the coronary arteries - not only calcified plaque, but 'soft'
plaque as well. The most powerful indicator of a heart attack and/or a
cardiovascular event is this 'plaque burden' which unquestionably assists
physicians in defining those populations at highest risk of serious heart
disease. Imatron is now clearly benefiting from this new understanding
about the diagnosis of heart disease and the assessment of risk of a cardiovascular
disease-related event - know your EBT coronary artery 'calcium score'." Imatron Inc. is primarily engaged in designing, manufacturing,
marketing, and supporting high performance electron beam tomography (EBT)
scanners based on the Company’s proprietary EBT technology. Imatron’s
EBT scanner is now in use at more than 150 major medical facilities and
imaging centers around the world, including the Mayo Clinic, Hackensack
University Medical Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Abbott-Northwestern
Hospital, Mount Sinai Medical Center, University of Iowa, Harbor-UCLA
Medical Center, UCLA Medical Center, St. Francis Hospital, Stanford University,
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Edward Cardiovascular Institute,
Michigan Heart Imaging, Ohio Heart, University of Illinois, Arizona Heart
Institute, Alfried Krupp Krankenhaus, Essen, Landeskrankenhaus in Graz,
Austria, Cardiology Research Centre in Moscow, Russia, FAU Erlangen-Nurnberg
in Erlangen, Germany, Beijing Hospital in China, BodyScan Imaging Center
of Kansas City, ITG/HeartScan Imaging, Heart Savers of Irvine, The Cooper
Clinic, HealthScan of La Jolla, LifeScore of San Diego and HealthScan
of Plano (Dallas). Except for the historical information contained herein,
the matters discussed in this news release may contain forward-looking
statements that are based on current expectations and estimates about
the industry in which Imatron operates, the estimated impact of certain
technological advances, the estimated impact of published research studies
on scanner sales and procedures, as well as management's beliefs and assumptions.
It is important to note that the Company's actual results could differ
materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. The
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include,
among others; failed clinical demonstration of certain asserted technological
advantages and diagnostic capabilities; reliance on product distributors;
competition in the diagnostic imaging market; failure to improve product
reliability or introduce new product models and enhancements; delays in
production and difficulty in obtaining components and sub-assemblies from
limited sources of supply; inability to meet cash-on-delivery or prepayment
terms from vendors; determinations by regulatory and administrative government
authorities; patent expiration and denial of patent applications; the
high cost of the scanner as compared to commercially available CT scanners;
and the risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's Securities
and Exchange Commission reports, including their reports on Form 10-K
for their current fiscal year. Contact: S. Lewis Meyer, CEO
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