Devices Radiology Cardiology Reimbursement

 News Release - April 12, 2006

Positron Corporation Comments on Reimbursement for Myocardial PET Perfusion Increases over 300%

HOUSTON--(HSMN NewsFeed)--April 12, 2006--After languishing in the clinical shadows for the last 10 years, rubidium is starting to catch the attention of nuclear medicine specialists. The radiopharmaceutical can thank the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for its revival.

CMS, as of January 1, 2006, increased the reimbursement for myocardial PET perfusion imaging involving multiple studies at rest and/or stress. The new rate of $2,484.88 more than triples the 2005 rate of $735.77.

Read the full Aunt Minnie report - Rubidium-Based PET May Finally Get Its Due: http://www.ami-imaging.org/news

Joseph Oliverio, President of Positron (OTCBB:POSC ) stated, "The increase of reimbursement by CMS demonstrates the continued support of our government payers by promoting the increased utilization of PET as a first line test for detection of heart disease. We agree with other industry experts and see this as an important catalyze to the expansion of cardiac PET.

Clinical evidence

Because rubidium has a very short physical half-life of 75 seconds, the patient must undergo pharmacological stress, and the rubidium must be injected at peak stress through an infusion system from the tracer's generator. The generator is encased in a lead shield surrounded by a labeled plastic container.

"There seems to be a general consensus -- at least in the nuclear cardiology community -- that rubidium PET might replace SPECT in patients who are under pharmacological stress, simply because it is so fast," said Dr. Marcelo DiCarli, chief of nuclear medicine and PET and co-director of cardiovascular imaging at Brigham and Women's Hospital. DiCarli has been using rubidium for several years to build the Boston hospital's PET program and today images between 1,100 and 1,200 cardiac patients annually with the tracer.

Rubidium-based cardiac PET has not only enhanced patient throughput with shorter scan times but has also proven beneficial for difficult-to-image patients. "Once you get into patients who are obese, we know what the limitations of SPECT are," DiCarli said. "Those patients who need to undergo pharmacological stress are those who are usually the sickest; those are the patients for whom (rubidium-based) PET provides a significant advantage."

About Positron:

Positron Corporation designs, manufactures, markets and supports advanced medical imaging devices utilizing positron emission tomography (PET) technology under the trade name POSICAM(TM) systems. POSICAM(TM) systems incorporate patented and proprietary software and technology for the diagnosis and treatment of patients in the areas of cardiology, oncology and neurology. Positron Corporation offers unique combination of low cost technology and disease specific software solutions differentiating themselves from all other medical device manufacturers. POSICAM(TM) systems are in use at leading medical facilities, including the Weatherhead PET center at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, Texas; The Heart Center of Niagara in Niagara Falls, New York; Beth Israel Medical Center, New York; Emory Crawford Long Hospital Carlyle Fraser Heart Center in Atlanta, Georgia; and Nishidai Clinic (Diagnostic Imaging Center) in Tokyo, Japan. Additional information may be found at www.positron.com.

Source: Positron Corporation

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