ART Signs Agreement With Massachusetts General Hospital; Partnership to Develop Optical Detection Technology for Breast Cancer.

MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 3, 1999--

ART, Advanced Research Technologies Inc. has signed an agreement with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a teaching hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School, to participate in the development of a laser-based optical detection system for breast cancer. Breast cancer is the single leading cause of cancer death for women aged 20 to 59.

Under the three-year agreement, the collaborators intend to develop a relatively inexpensive device that will complement existing systems used to diagnose breast cancer. The device will be designed to provide a better lesion detection rate among women undergoing routine mammography. The agreement also gives ART the right to obtain an option to market such a device under conditions determined between MGH and ART.

"ART is proud to have been approached to participate in the development of this new optical detection device for breast cancer by an institution of the caliber of Massachusetts General Hospital," said Paul Bisson, president and CEO of ART. "The collaboration confirms ART's growing reputation as a leading developer of equipment to detect tissue changes, such as that are found when cancer occurs. The new device will use the same technology developed by ART for its patented SoftScan(TM) system, which screens lesions difficult to detect with conventional X-ray-based mammography."

Risk factors associated with breast cancer diagnosis include early onset of menarchy, late menopause, never having children, bearing children after age 30, a family history of breast cancer and chest irradiations for conditions such as Hodgkin's Disease, according to the Jan./Feb. Cancer Journal for Clinicians. Two-thirds of all breast cancers occur in women over 50.

David A. Boas, Ph.D., assistant professor, Massachusetts General Hospital, Radiology Center and manager of the project, said, "MGH approached ART to be a partner in this project because we were impressed by their research and development and knowledge of the complexities involved in bringing this new optical imaging technique for breast cancer to clinical practice, as well as the potential for numerous other applications."

Founded in 1811, Massachusetts General Hospital is one of the oldest hospitals in the United States, and the largest in New England. Its mission is to provide the highest quality care to individuals and to the community, to advance care through excellence in biomedical research, and to educate future academic and practice leaders of the health care professions. MGH conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, with an annual research budget of more than $200 million USD. It is the oldest and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, and nearly all of the hospital's active staff physicians are on the Harvard Medical School faculty.

ART, Advanced Research Technologies is a North American company, based in the greater Montreal area, which specializes in the detection of anomalies in the medical and industrial sectors. ART is developing a mammography device based on laser instead of X-rays. This device, known as SoftScan, is designed for early detection of breast lesions. SoftScan is currently in phase II of a clinical study required by the Canadian government authorities. ART is also moving forward in its growth process by taking the steps necessary to be listed on a North American stock exchange in the near future.