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Misonix's Sonora Medical Unit Invited to Speak at Prestigious AAPM Annual Meeting

Posted on: Monday, 18 July 2005, 12:01 CDT

FARMINGDALE, N.Y., July 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Misonix, Inc. , a developer of ultrasonic medical device technology for the treatment of cancer and other healthcare purposes, announced today that its majority-owned Sonora Medical Systems, Inc. subsidiary has been invited to speak and provide a product demonstration at the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM). The AAPM event, which is the largest medical physicists conference held in the United States, will take place in the newly expanded Washington State Convention & Trade Center from July 24-28, 2005.

Membership of the AAPM includes over 4,700 medical physicists who typically are employed in medical schools, hospitals, clinics and private practices. According to the AAPM, medical physicists contribute to the effectiveness of radiological imaging procedures by assuring radiation safety and helping to develop improved imaging techniques (e.g., mammography CT, MR, ultrasound). They contribute to development of therapeutic techniques, collaborate with radiation oncologists to design treatment plans, and monitor equipment and procedures to ensure that cancer patients receive the prescribed dose of radiation to the correct location. Medical physicists are responsible for ensuring that imaging and treatment facilities comply with regulations of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and various state health departments.

At AAPM's annual meeting, approximately 1150 papers will be presented on subjects at the intersection of physics and medicine. Many of these topics deal with the development of state-of-the-art imaging and therapeutic devices, and the new techniques that go along with them. Mr. G. Wayne Moore, President of Sonora Medical Systems, Inc., has been invited as a guest speaker and is the sole representative of the ultrasound test equipment technology industry to address AAPM conference attendees. Mr. Moore will speak on the vital role medical physicists play in ensuring quality assurance and quality control for ultrasound medical devices. As the only company to focus on ultrasound out of nearly 100 exhibitors, Sonora has been asked to provide attendees with a workshop of its FirstCall 2000 ultrasound probe testing system, which is in addition to its vendor booth on the floor of the convention center. Based on preliminary registrations, AAPM expects nearly 100 attendees to join the FirstCall 2000 workshop. Sonora has created a promotional Web page (http://www.dead-/ elements.com) intended to create some excitement for clinical physicists participating in its FirstCall workshop. The Web page's name is reference to industry jargon for ultrasound probes that are not working properly.

"Our participation in the AAPM annual meeting underscores the vital role played by medical physicists to ensure quality control and quality assurance wherever ultrasound equipment is being used," said Mr. Moore. "As a leading provider of ultrasound test equipment to the worldwide medical community, we believe there is a significant need to properly maintain the highest level of practice and equipment standards.

"Ultrasound probe maintenance is integral to patient safety and treatment, as well as for reducing health care costs. According to an article published in the Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, it is estimated that more than 20% of all ultrasound transducers currently in use have a defect that could potentially lead to misdiagnosis or under-diagnosis. Inaccurate clinical data generated by using a defective probe may result in a patient being referred for a more invasive procedure or not being administered necessary treatment. Preventative probe testing can be used to discover minor problems before they turn into expensive failures."

Sonora has developed and now markets the world's first multi-vendor, high- speed ultrasound probe tester. The Sonora FirstCall 2000 enables clinical engineers, service technicians and manufacturing personnel to objectively evaluate the health of ultrasound transducers. Data acquired by FirstCall 2000 can be used to make decisions regarding the disposition of probes suspected of being defective.

FirstCall 2000 is capable of testing most linear, phased and convex arrays, and is configured to handle inter-cavity probes. The system is designed to test an enormous and ever-expanding variety of probes from leading ultrasound original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Philips (ATL and HP), Siemens (Acuson), GE Medical, Toshiba, Aloka, Medison and others. Early detection and repair of serious problems is far more cost-effective than allowing a mission critical probe to suffer a catastrophic failure requiring an often high-cost replacement. Sonora is the only independent ISO 9000 facility that specializes in repairing probes to OEM performance levels.

About AAPM:

AAPM is the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, a scientific, educational, and professional organization of more than 4,700 medical physicists. The AAPM is an educational nonprofit organization devoted to the discipline of physics in medicine. The mission of the Association is to advance the practice of physics in medicine and biology by encouraging innovative research and development, disseminating scientific and technical information, fostering the education and professional development of medical physicists, and promoting the highest quality medical services for patients. Additional information on the AAPM may be found on its Web site at http://www.aapm.org/.

About Sonora Medical Systems, Inc.:

Sonora Medical Systems is an ISO-9000 certified and FDA registered provider of high quality products and services to the diagnostic ultrasound and MRI markets. Its products and services are marketed on a direct basis to healthcare providers, dealers and service organizations in North America, and both directly and through distribution partners in non-U.S. markets. Customers include large and small hospitals, stand-alone imaging centers, clinics, Independent Service Organizations (ISOs) and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Located in Longmont, Colorado, Sonora is a subsidiary of Misonix, Inc. . Additional information on Sonora is available at its Web site at http://www.4sonora.com/.

About Misonix, Inc.:

Misonix, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets medical, scientific and industrial ultrasonic and air pollution systems and maintains a minority equity position in Focus Surgery as its exclusive manufacturer of the Sonablate(R) 500. Additional information is available on the Company's Web site at http://www.misonix.com/.

Forward Looking Statements: Statements in this news release looking forward in time are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These factors include general economic conditions, delays and risks associated with the performance of contracts, uncertainties as a result of research and development, potential acquisitions, consumer and industry acceptance, litigation and/or court proceedings, regulatory risks including approval of pending and/or contemplated 510K filings, and other factors discussed in the

Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10- Q and current reports on Form 8-K.

Misonix Contact: Investor Relations Contact: Richard Zaremba Jordan M. Darrow Chief Financial Officer Darrow Associates, Inc. 631-694-9555 631-367-1866 invest@misonix.com jdarrow@optonline.net

Misonix, Inc.

CONTACT: Misonix Contact: Richard Zaremba, Chief Financial Officer,+1-631-694-9555, invest@misonix.com; Investor Relations Contact: Jordan M.Darrow, Darrow Associates, Inc., +1-631-367-1866, jdarrow@optonline.net

Web site: http://www.misonix.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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