Business, cardiology, diagnostic imaging

Medtronic buys MRI-safe technology for implanted devices from Biophan

9 October 2007

Medtronic, Inc., (NYSE: MDT) is to buy MRI safety patents from Biophan Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: BIPH) for $11 million in cash.
Biophan will transfer to Medtronic its MRI-safety patents, which include technologies that make medical devices, such as pacemakers, safe for use with MRI.

Biophan's technologies reduce the normally dangerous heating and induced voltages in wires to safe levels during MRI scans. It has developed a range of solutions that can be adapted to implants that otherwise could not be used with MRI. These include four key technologies: discrete resonant circuits, lead wire winding, low pass filters, and wire looping. Biophan estimates about 300,000 people a year cannot have MRI scans because of the incompatibility of implanted devices.

“Our technology has the potential to solve the problems that have prevented many people with pacemakers from having an MRI. We believe Medtronic has the experience and resources to bring our technology to market,” stated Michael Weiner, President of Biophan.

“Since our founding in 2000, our goal has been to develop and commercialize innovative technologies related to medical imaging safety, with a focus on the development of solutions for the contraindication between pacemakers and MRI machines,” stated Mr. Guenter Jaensch, Chairman of Biophan’s Board of Directors.

Biophan says it will continue to develop technologies to enable visualization of clotting and restenosis in stents under MRI, which is not possible with today’s stents. In addition, it will continue its collaboration with Myotech on the development of the Myotech Circulatory Support System, a novel device for the treatment of acute heart failure.

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