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Vital Images' Advanced Visualization and Analysis Software Featured in Live Case at TCT

Posted on: Thursday, 25 October 2007, 15:00 CDT

WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Vital Images, Inc. , a leading provider of enterprise-wide advanced visualization and analysis solutions, today announced that the company's Vitrea(R) cardiovascular software was prominently showcased during live cases at the 19th Annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) Scientific Symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation. The TCT meeting focuses on the status of cardiovascular interventions and charts pathways to improve outcomes for patients with coronary, endovascular, and structural heart disease.

During the conference, live case broadcasts from the Minneapolis Heart Institute (MHI) at Abbott Northwestern Hospital featured cardiologists performing challenging procedures on patients with chronic total occlusions (CTO) using multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) imaging with Vitrea software.

"Patients with CTO, or complete artery blockage, remain difficult to treat interventionally, which is a major reason patients undergo coronary bypass graft surgery," said Robert Schwartz, MD co-director of the Cardiac CT program at MHI. "With new interventional procedures and CT imaging with Vitrea software, we now have the potential to treat these patients less invasively than ever before."

The live cases started with an evaluation of the patient's arteries using MDCT images from Vitrea software. The Vitrea software helps physicians better understand the character of the plaque causing the occlusion, which can improve physicians' ability to plan procedures in the catheterization lab.

"We routinely use Vitrea software with each CT exam," commented John Lesser, MD, co-director for the Cardiac CT program at MHI. "We can look at the inside of an artery even though it is entirely blocked, giving us critical information to help a cardiologist open the vessel. We can now see things we've never been able to see before."

Using this technology in the catheterization lab is a new frontier according to Dr. Schwartz. "This technology continues to revolutionize cardiovascular practice and advance our treatment of even the most difficult cases to save lives."

In its 19th year, TCT has become one of the most respected meetings in interventional vascular medicine and has over 5,000 attendees from across the globe.

"It is rewarding to know that our solution plays an important role in cardiovascular imaging planning and treatment," said Jay D. Miller, president and chief executive officer of Vital Images. "We're proud that Vital Images' technology is featured in educational initiatives at the TCT and that it is helping to advance the standard of patient care."

About Minneapolis Heart Institute

The Minneapolis Heart Institute is recognized as one of the world's leading heart institutes. In U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking of America's medical centers, Abbott Northwestern ranked No. 28 for heart care and surgery out of the 5,462 hospitals evaluated and received the 2007 HealthGrades America's 50 Best Hospitals Award. Its facility combines the finest in personalized patient care with sophisticated technology in a unique, family-oriented environment. The Institute's programs address the full range of heart-health needs: prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. The Minneapolis Heart Institute can be found online at http://www.mplsheart.com/.

About Vitrea(R)

Vitrea(R) software is Vital Images' advanced visualization solution that creates 2D, 3D and 4D images of human anatomy from CT (computed tomography) and MR (magnetic resonance) image data. With this productivity-enhancing tool, physicians can easily navigate within these images to better understand disease conditions. The Vitrea product addresses specialists' needs through various software options for cardiac, colon, vessel probe and other applications. In addition, Vitrea software utilizes an intuitive clinical workflow and automatic settings to improve speed and simplicity. Other capabilities and partnerships with PACS (picture archiving and communications systems) providers expand physicians' access to Vitrea software throughout an enterprise.

About Vital Images, Inc.

Vital Images, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, is a leading provider of enterprise-wide advanced visualization and analysis software solutions. The company's technology gives radiologists, cardiologists, oncologists and other medical specialist's time-saving productivity and communications tools that can be accessed throughout the enterprise and via the Web for easy use in the day-to-day practice of medicine. Vital Images also has offices in Den Haag, Netherlands and Beijing, China. For more information, visit http://www.vitalimages.com/.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties which could cause results to differ materially from those projected. Statements regarding past results are not predictions of future results, which could be affected by many factors, including but not limited to dependence on market growth, the timely availability and acceptance of new products, the impact of competitive products and pricing, dependence on major customers, third-party reimbursement, and other risks detailed from time to time in Vital Images' SEC reports, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006.

Vitrea(R) is a registered trademark of Vital Images. Vital Images disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others.

Vital Images, Inc.

CONTACT: Michael H. Carrel, Chief Financial Officer & Chief OperatingOfficer of Vital Images, Inc., +1-952-487-9500

Web site: http://www.vitalimages.com/http://www.mplsheart.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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