First stable long-term results reported for the correction of hyperopia by laser thermal keratoplasty.

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 1, 1995--Sunrise Technologies International Inc. (OTC:SNRS) said Tuesday that an award winning paper presented at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery demonstrated that patients treated with Sunrise's patented laser thermal keratoplasty (LTK) technology for low-level hyperopia (far-sightedness) benefited from a lasting improvement in vision two years after treatment.

"This is the first time that long-term, stable results have been demonstrated for corrective refractive surgery using any form of thermal keratoplasty," according to Douglas Koch, M.D., Baylor College of Medicine, Houston. Dr. Koch is principal investigator and the paper's main author.

"Past efforts with other techniques using thermal keratoplasty have resulted in continuous regression of vision correction over time. The Sunrise technique appears to be different from earlier approaches," he said.

The report of the clinical study was the first time that long-term follow-up data on the use of the Sunrise technology for modifying corneal collagen was presented to the medical community. An expert panel of physicians at the 1995 annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery awarded the paper the "Best Paper of Session" award. It subsequently has been submitted to a leading peer-reviewed ophthalmic journal for publication.

Hyperopia affects an estimated 75% of the population. Younger people are generally able to cope with the condition until they reach their 30s and 40s, when they begin to lose the ability to accommodate for this visual degradation and need corrective lenses or corrective surgery for the first times in their lives.

"We believe our LTK procedure will offer a noninvasive, safe, and effective remedy for hyperopia that is appealing to patients," David W. Light, Sunrise president and chief executive officer, said. "Dr. Koch's pivotal study is one in a series of clinical studies to further validate the importance of our technology."

The Sunrise LTK technology(1) is currently being used in 15 countries outside the United States. In the U.S., the company is awaiting approval from the Food and Drug Administration to begin Phase IIb clinical trials, having successfully completed Phase IIa trials earlier this year.

Sunrise Technologies International Inc., is a medical instrument company with strong proprietary technologies used in the development, manufacture and marketing of solid state laser systems for ophthalmic and dental applications. Its current products include the SunLase line of dental lasers; the MircoPrep air abrasive dental system; and the gLase ophthalmic laser system for the treatment of glaucoma.

(1) Investigational device. Federal law restricts this device to investigational use in the United States.

CONTACT: Sunrise Technologies International Inc.

David W. Light, 510/623-9001