Journal of the American Medical Association 'JAMA' Publishes Kaiser Permanente Study Using Imatron's EBT Coronary Artery Scan to Demonstrate Link Between Hostility and Heart Disease.

Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--May 17, 2000

National Video News Release by JAMA Shows Hostility May Predispose

Young Adults to Heart Disease

Imatron Inc. (Nasdaq:IMAT) announced today that the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a paper in the May 17, 2000 issue by Dr. Carlos Iribarren and Dr. Stephen Sidney, affiliates of Kaiser Permanente, and co-authors, linking hostility in early adulthood to later development of coronary artery calcification, or atherosclerosis. This research was part of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study which was initiated in 1985 with funding from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

The CARDIA Study relied upon the Imatron Electron Beam Tomography (EBT) coronary artery calcification measurements as a marker for subclinincal atherosclerosis to compare two alternate indices for the assessment of hostility in a 374 subject sub-group of the 5,115 patient study. The CARDIA Study was designed to determine whether these coronary artery calcification measurements were independent of established risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD), eliminating the biases caused by using clinical end points for CAD -- hence the use of EBT as the definitive marker for subclinical coronary artery disease, or atherosclerosis.

The authors reported that the assessments of hostility made five and ten years prior to the EBT study correlated with the development of coronary artery calcification as measured by EBT using a very precise scanning and scoring protocol. Although there were insufficient numbers in this sample to assess trends according to race and gender, the association between "hostility and coronary artery calcification held constant after correction for demographic, lifestyle and physiological variables."

S. Lewis Meyer, Imatron's CEO, stated, "It is extremely gratifying to see the EBT coronary artery scan incorporated into this landmark study as the 'Gold Standard' for the determination of subclinical heart disease. The fact that subclinical atherosclerosis was detected in what would typically be viewed as a very young patient population is an exciting new development in understanding the origins of heart disease. The national television exposure accompanying this JAMA release, and the affiliation with Kaiser Permanente, will clearly reinforce the public awareness of the power of the EBT coronary artery scan in assisting physicians in diagnosing the presence and extent of coronary artery calcification. This coronary artery calcification is indicative of atherosclerosis even in the earliest, most treatable, stages of this progressive disease process."

For additional information about Imatron, visit our web site at www.imatron.com.

Imatron, Inc. is primarily engaged in designing, manufacturing, marketing, and supporting high performance EBT scanners based on the Company's proprietary electron beam tomography (EBT) technology. Imatron's EBT scanner is now in use at more than 120 major medical facilities and imaging centers around the world, including the Mayo Clinic, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, Mount Sinai Medical Center, University of Iowa, National Institutes of Health, UCLA Medical Center, St. Francis Hospital, Stanford University, University of Illinois, Arizona Heart Institute, Alfried Krupp Krankenhaus, Essen, Landeskrankenhaus in Graz, Austria, Daniel den Hoed Klinik in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Cardiology Research Centre in Moscow, Russia, FAU Erlangen-Nurnberg in Erlangen, Germany, Zentralklinik Bad Berka in Bad Berka, Germany, Beijing Hospital in China, HeartScan Imaging, Cooper Clinic, HealthScan of La Jolla, LifeScore of San Diego and Vital Imaging Diagnostic Clinic.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations and estimates about the industry in which Imatron operates, the estimated impact of certain technological advances, the estimated impact of published research studies on scanner sales and procedures, as well as management's beliefs and assumptions. It is important to note that the Company's actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others; failed clinical demonstration of certain asserted technological advantages and diagnostic capabilities; reliance on product distributors; competition in the diagnostic imaging market; failure to improve product reliability or introduce new product models and enhancements; delays in production and difficulty in obtaining components and sub-assemblies from limited sources of supply; inability to meet cash-on-delivery or prepayment terms from vendors; determinations by regulatory and administrative government authorities; patent expiration and denial of patent applications; the high cost of the scanner as compared to commercially available CT scanners; and the risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including their reports of Form 10-K for their current fiscal year.