Biophan Announces MRI-safe Solution for Defibrillators.

Business/Medical Editors

SAN DIEGO--(BW HealthWire)--May 9, 2002

Biophan Technologies, Inc., (OTCBB:BIPH) developers of the first MRI-safe, wearable pacemaker, will be demonstrating a functional design concept of an MRI-safe lead for a defibrillator at this year's North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology Conference (NASPE) in San Diego, CA.

Developed by Wilson Greatbatch, the inventor of the first successful implantable pacemaker, the defibrillator can deliver a 800 volt/40 joule charge to a patient whose heart is determined to be in fibrillation, where the muscle contractions are random and irregular so that the heart does not effectively pump blood. The electrical discharge stops the contractions (defibrillates the heart) and allows the heart to re-establish a regular heart rhythm. Biophan's fiber optic solution for making pacemakers safe in an MRI machine cannot be extended to the defibrillation function because of the voltage and energy required.

"When we started working on the MRI safety problem and developed the first working photonic catheter, we knew we had solved the main problem associated with MRI safety in sensing and pacing leads. However, the defibrillator problem was one we were not sure we could solve. 800 volts is much more than we can deliver through a fiber optic cable implanted in the body," said Michael L. Weiner, CEO of Biophan Technologies. "When Wilson Greatbatch came up with the idea of a spark gap switch, we were amazed at its simplicity, effectiveness, and creativity."

Wilson Greatbatch, who started his career as a radio engineer, thought of using a "spark gap" device as a switch. This switch is open in most cases and allows the defibrillator lead to be electrically isolated from the device circuitry. This eliminates the antenna effect of the lead, which causes the many problems of MRI and pacemaker incompatibility. When the defibrillator circuitry detects heart fibrillation and generates the 800 volt charge, the spark gap switch passes the charge to the defibrillator lead for the several milliseconds necessary until the voltage is discharged. Immediately after the charge is dispensed, the switch is again open. The defibrillator lead works in conjunction with Biophan's current photonic pacemaker lead. The fiber optic lead provides sensing and electrostimulation for normal pacing. The defibrillator lead concept complements the photonic lead by providing the needed isolation and energy transmission only when required. As a result, the defibrillator lead will not heat up or conduct energy to the device circuitry or electrode in the heart, except when the defibrillation function is required.

The Company is demonstrating a prototype at the NASPE conference, the annual event attended by cardiologists, electrophysiologists, and medical device companies interested in cardiac electrophysiology, pacing, and the management of arrhythmias.

The Company will offer MRI-safe defibrillator functionality as part of its temporary pacemaker product line, and will offer the solution to pacemaker manufacturers to incorporate into their new devices.

Biophan's mission is to bring MRI compatibility to the pacemaker, implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), and biomedical device industries.

About Biophan Technologies

Biophan, based in Rochester and Clarence, New York, is engaged in designing, developing, and marketing new technology and related products to enable cardiac pacemakers and the other life sustaining medical devices to be safe and compatible with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other equipment using magnetic fields and radio waves. This MRI-compatible technology will be utilized in implantable pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators, left ventricular assist devices, insulin pumps, drug pumps, pain reduction devices, and other medical equipment. The underlying technology is based upon pending patents and proprietary knowledge developed by Wilson Greatbatch (inventor of the first successful implantable cardiac pacemaker) and others. For more information, please visit www.biophan.com.

Safe Harbor Statement:

Certain statements included in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ materially from such statements expressed or implied herein as a result of a variety of factors including, but not limited to: the development of the Company's MRI and gene therapy technologies; the approval of the Company's patent applications; the successful implementation of the Company's research and development programs; the acceptance by the market of the Company's products; competition and the timing of projects and trends in future operating performance, as well as other factors expressed from time to time in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). As a result, this press release should be read in conjunction with the Company's periodic filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made only as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.