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Biophan Presents at MRI Safety Symposium; MRI Safety Key Topic at the Society for Medical Innovation and Technology (SMIT) 2006 Conference

Posted on: Tuesday, 9 May 2006, 09:03 CDT

Biophan Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: BIPH)(FWB: BTN), a developer of next-generation medical technology, today announced that it will participate in the Society for Medical Innovation and Technology (SMIT) 2006 international conference, May 11-14 in Monterey, California. The conference will be keynoted by John E. Abele, Co-Founder and Director of Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX).

The Symposium on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Safety at the conference includes presentations by:

-- Terry Woods, FDA's Center for Devices & Radiological Health (CDRH), Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories (OSEL), on "Standards for Safety of Medical Devices in MRI"; and

-- Howard Bassen, also of the OSEL at CDRH, on "MRI Induced Heating of Selected Thin Wire Metallic Implants."

Biophan recently announced that it has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, or CRADA, with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help improve patient safety in MRI environments by developing guidelines and standards for assessing the safety of cardiac pacemaker and neurostimulation leads used in the MRI environment.

"SMIT has for many years been a focal point for advances in innovation in medicine," said Michael Weiner, Biophan CEO. "We at Biophan are very pleased to be participating in the presentations on MRI safety and imaging, and to see MRI compatibility becoming an important part of discussion at this medical forum. The presenters include leading experts on MRI safety and image compatibility from around the world."

Additional Symposium speakers and topics include:

-- Dr. Andreas Melzer, Biophan-Europe, Chief Technology Officer, on "Therapeutic Imaging";

-- Richard Satava, M.D., Program Manager of Advanced Biomedical Technology at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, on "Intelligent Implants";

-- Nobel Prize winner, Kary Mullis, on "Artificial Immune System."

-- Jeffrey L. Helfer, Biophan Technologies, Vice President of Engineering, on "Simulation of RF Heating";

-- Florian Fidler, Physikalisches Institut EP5 Univ. Wurzburg, Germany, on "Worst Case Implant Heating";

-- Gregor Schaefers, MR:comp GmbH, on "Testing methods and standards for MR safety and compatibility of medical devices";

-- Arno Buecker, MD, Clinic of Diagnostic Radiology, Aachen, Germany, on "Safety of Interventional MRI";

-- Joachim Kettenbach, Dept of Radiology, University Hospital, Vienna, Austria, on "Safety of Intraoperative MRI";

-- Christopher Yeung, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD, on "Evaluation of Wire Heating";

-- Erwin Immel, INSITE Med. & Dept. of Physical Engineering University of Applied Sciences, Gelsenkirchen and Biophan Europe, Castrop Rauxel, Germany, on "Resonant Circuits for Implants";

-- Keith Kopp, Kopp Development Inc., "Ferromagnetic Detection"; and

-- G. R. Thelissen, University Hospital Maastricht, the Netherlands, on "Hybrid MRI/X-Ray procedures."

The program is available at http://www.smit2006.com/prel_program_xls.html.

About the Society for Medical Innovation and Technology

The Society for Medical Innovation and Technology (SMIT), http://www.smit2006.com, is an international organization formed in 1989 under the name "Society for Minimally Invasive Therapy" by leaders in this field and dedicated to the multidisciplinary advancement of minimally invasive therapy to reduce patient trauma arising from surgical operations or radiological interventions. Members include representatives from most medical specialties, instrument manufacturing, biomedical engineering, and research. To reflect this broader membership, the name of the Society was formally changed to "Society for Medical Innovation and Technology" in the year 2000. The Society has met annually since 1989.

About Biophan Technologies

Biophan develops and markets cutting-edge technologies for the medical device industry that provide competitive advantages. The Company's founding goal was to make all biomedical devices capable of safely and successfully working with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), problems which the Company has solved and begun to license to leading device manufacturers. The Company's mission has expanded to provide other technologies which will improve the delivery of healthcare. Biophan's technologies enable medical systems such as pacemakers, interventional surgical devices such as catheters and guidewires, and implants such as stents to be safely and/or effectively imaged under MRI. The Company is helping to commercialize the MYO-VAD(TM), a novel, MRI-compatible ventricular assist device which has significant potential to improve the treatment of many forms of acute and chronic heart disease. Other applications in development include drug delivery and power systems which derive energy from body heat. Committed to growth through innovation and developmental leadership, Biophan and its licensors now hold a total of 156 U.S. patents, licenses, or applications, plus international applications. This total includes 50 issued U.S. patents, 8 recently-allowed applications that will issue as patents in the near future, and 98 pending applications at various stages of examination at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patents cover areas including nanotechnology (nanomagnetic particle coatings), medical device designs, radio frequency filters, polymer composites, thermoelectric materials, and photonics. Biophan has joint development and licensing agreements with Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX - News) and NASA's Ames Center for Nanotechnology. Biophan is traded on the OTC market under the symbol BIPH, and is also listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol BTN.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements reflect what Biophan anticipates, expects, or believes may happen in the future. Biophan's actual results could differ materially from the outcome or circumstance expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors including, but not limited to: Biophan's ability to develop its technologies; the approval of Biophan's patent applications; the successful implementation of Biophan's research and development programs; the ability of Biophan to demonstrate the effectiveness of its technology; the acceptance by the market of Biophan's technology and products incorporating such technology, the ability of Biophan to effectively negotiate and enter into contracts with medical device manufacturers for the licensing of Biophan's technology; competition; the ability of Biophan to raise capital to fund its operating and research and development activities until it generates revenues sufficient to do so; and the timing of projects and trends in future operating performance, as well as other factors expressed from time to time in Biophan's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). As a result, this press release should be read in conjunction with Biophan's periodic filings with the SEC which are incorporated herein by reference. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made only as of the date of this press release, and Biophan undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Source: Business Wire

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