National Institutes of Health Awards Phase II Grant Monies of $1.66 MM to TechniScan Medical Systems

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TechniScan Medical Systems (TMS), Inc., a Salt Lake City-based developer of ultrasound technology for breast imaging, today announced a continuation of its $2.8 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI)/National Institutes of Health (NIH). Phase II monies for the 12 months beginning April 2007 through March 2008 have been awarded in the amount of $1.66 million.

“This new award is yet another validation of the quality of the life sciences community in Utah”

“This new award is yet another validation of the quality of the life sciences community in Utah,” said Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. NCI awarded approximately $200,000 to TMS for Phase I development in December 2006. TMS will also receive approximately $1 million in Phase III in 2008, which will bring the total grant to $2.8 million.

Phase I goals, including the design of technical improvements to TechniScan’s prototype UltraSound CT™ Imaging System, were completed earlier this year. Phase II, which began in April 2007, involves production of two systems modeled on the improved USCT™ Imaging prototype. These machines will be used in Phase III for investigational testing of patients at the University of California San Diego in La Jolla, California and at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

“Phase III funds will pay for a significant portion of the pre-clinical work at these facilities that we anticipate beginning in early 2008,” noted TMS CEO David C. Robinson. The clinical testing will allow TMS to collect data on subjects with both normal breast anatomy, as well as on patients with clinical findings, and utilize the information to support regulatory efforts by TMS.

About TechniScan Medical Systems, Inc.

Founded in 1984, TMS (www.techniscanmedicalsystems.com) uses an ultrasound technology called inverse scattering, which makes use of the entire spectrum of information available from the ultrasound signal. The resulting diagnostic information includes ultrasound transmission tomography images in a format similar to that provided by MRI and CT imaging. In addition, UltraSound CT™ provides indices of speed and attenuation of sound, tissue properties that may provide physicians with valuable diagnostic information.