NeuroPhysics Corporation Launches Super-Resolution Small-Animal Biomedical Imaging System to Accelerate Drug Development and Reduce Associated Risks.

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SHIRLEY, Mass.--(BW HealthWire)--April 18, 2001

Resolution of 3mm (0.027cc) Sets New Standard for SPECT Imaging

NeuroPhysics Corporation, the world's only manufacturer of three-dimensional, super-resolution brain scanners for mapping gamma-emitting biomarker distributions, announces its entrance into the small-animal imaging market for research and pre-clinical drug development.

The small animal scanner is based on the Company's proven NeuroFOCUS(TM) High Definition Focused Emission Tomographic ("HDFET") scanner dedicated to the detailed functional imaging of the human brain.

"While the NeuroFOCUS scanner is used at the cutting edge of non-invasive brain research in gene therapy and neuroreceptor systems using monkeys," states Hugh A. Stoddart, Ph.D., NeuroPhysics President, "its 20cm field of view (FOV) makes it ideal for general pharmaceutical research requiring the full-body scanning of animals."

HDFET technology is identical to the scanning optical microscopes extensively used in biomedical applications requiring high-resolution, three-dimensional images of tissue. The NeuroFOCUS system uses twelve, scanning "gamma lenses" to provide a typical volumetric resolution of 0.027cc for radiobiomarker concentrations. Images can be reconstructed with voxels as small as 0.5mm; better resolution than PET cameras with a similar FOV. The NeuroFOCUS is even comparable to the actual results of miniature PET devices, restricted by design to very small fields, when used with intrinsic labels on living animals. The NeuroFOCUS is a noninvasive imaging system designed to significantly improve the performance and reduce the cost of research involving small laboratory animals.

The NeuroFOCUS system has the added advantage of being capable of imaging human brains with the same resolution. This provides the important potential for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies developing brain disorder drugs to reduce clinical trial risks by using the same medical imaging system in both pre-clinical animal drug development research and the actual human clinical trials.

Dr. Stoddart concludes, "We are entering the small-animal research and pre-clinical drug development market with a low-cost, revolutionary biomedical imaging device that has the unique capability of being a super-resolution full-body or specific organ radiobiomarker imaging system for animals and providing images of the human brain with the same resolution."

NeuroPhysics' HDFET scanner for three-dimensional mapping radiobiomarkers has several important advantages. While using very small quantities of radiolabeled drugs, the system can be used to trace the distribution and kinetics of new drug candidates early in the research phase followed by testing their effects on disease states. Not only can the drug itself be labeled with a radioactive tag and its distribution imaged, but also the effect of clinical quantities of the untagged drug can be assessed using other appropriate radiobiomarkers. It is possible to determine three-dimensional distributions of radioactivity without sacrificing the animal thereby permitting the use of the same animal for a control study. The imaging system is also useful in determining the most efficient human testing protocol for FDA approval.

The NeuroFOCUS system does not require a nearby cyclotron and rapid radiochemistry to support its operation. Special radioisotope-tagged molecules can be synthesized in the laboratory when suitable radiobiomarkers are not available commercially. Additional information on the NeuroFOCUS biomedical imaging system is available at http://www.neurophysics.com or by contacting the Company.