Message From Our Chairman
Breast Cancer Awareness Month arrives at a time when we continue to make PEM imaging more available than ever to patients worldwide.  Since the launch of our product at the European Congress of Radiology in March, we have signed 5 distribution agreements covering 13 countries in Europe in addition to Turkey and Russia.  We received CE Mark approval in September and have sold our first three units in Germany, Switzerland and Turkey.  In addition, we have added distributors in Southeast Asia and China and recently delivered our first unit in Saudi Arabia.

On the research front and in an effort to proactively and dramatically reduce dose to the patient, technologist and physician, we continue to support research designed to validate scientific bench testing results showing that as little as 5 mCi of FDG, if not less, is the optimal dose for PEM imaging.  Preliminary research results presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine in June validated the clinical accuracy of a 50% reduction in radiation dose to the patient undergoing a PEM scan.  The researchers from Swedish Cancer Institute and the University of Washington are now investigating using 2.5 mCi or 75% less radiation with results pending.  Additionally, a manuscript recently published in AJR by the same group shows that PEM may improve breast cancer survival by identifying aggressive cancers.

We have also had a flurry of recent media coverage all featured on our Naviscan in the News page including three bylined articles written by some of our luminary customers.  The first in Radiology Today entitled "Breast PET in Clinical Practice - A Florida Health System's Experience with Positron Emission Mammography" by Dr. Mary Hayes of Memorial Hospital is a step-by-step guide to integrating PEM into a busy mammography practice where breast MRI is present.  The second, by Dr. Kathy Schilling from Boca Raton Regional Hospital focused on a case study entitled "PET-guided Breast Biopsy" in Imaging Technology News.  The final from breast surgeon Dr. Michael Kinney in the September edition of Surgical Products discusses how he uses PEM technology in his breast care practice to help plan surgery.  Additionally one of our newest customers, VyMed Diagnostic Imaging in Tampa Florida has performed over 50 scans since their local NBC affiliate ran a story on the utilization of PEM.

It is clearer than ever that the best advertising we have is a good customer experience which starts by listening to you.  We believe the launch of our Social Media campaign through Twitter and Facebook will help facilitate this communication.

Please do not hesitate to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any specific requests or suggestions.

Sincerely,

Paul Mirabella
Chairman & CEO

Facts About Dose For Patients 
We have created a fact sheet comparing radiation dose to patients from different imaging modalities including PEM, mammography, tomosynthesis, BSGI and CT.  The goal is to put in perspective the risk versus benefit ratio of employing the correct imaging tool to ensure the benefit of proper treatment.  You can download a copy to print and hand out to patients here.  

CE Mark Approval - First Sales in Europe
We received CE Mark approval for both the scanner and Stereo Navigator PET-guided biopsy accessory.  Distributors have been confirmed covering 13 countries including: Germany, Switzerland and Turkey, where the first three scanners have been sold, as well as Italy, Spain, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Russia, and Romania.

Recently Published Peer-Reviewed Articles
Results from a trial at Swedish Cancer Institute showing that PEM may help predict breast cancer survival by identifying the most aggressive cancers was published in AJR.  A prospective study at Seoul National University College of Medicine showed that PEM has a higher sensitivity than PET/CT and is superior for diagnosing and characterizing small lesions.

- Wang CL, MacDonald L, Rogers J, Aravkin A. Haseley D, Beatty JD. Positron Emission Mammography: Correlation of Estrogen Receptor, and Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 Status and 18-F FDG. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2011 Aug;197(2):W247-55

- JS, Chun IK, Paeng JC, Kang KW, Lee SM, Han W, Noh DY, Chung JK, Lee DS. Imaging Sensitivity of Dedicated Positron Emission Mammography in Relation to Tumor Size.  Breast. 2011 Aug 24. [Epub ahead of print]

Join Naviscan at RSNA 2011
We are pleased to announce that we will be at RSNA in our biggest booth ever.  Please stop by to hear what is new in the South Hall, booth 3609, near GE.  We will send out a list of the many podium and poster presentations on PEM in the coming weeks.

Recent News Coverage of PEM
Several news stories featuring PEM have been published in the past months.  Many are in the form of bylined articles written by PEM users from both the Radiology and Breast Surgery communities.  These may prove helpful to objectively educate referring physicians on the value of PEM:

- Dr. Michael Kinney - "Imaging Advances Breast Cancer Care" Surgical Products, September, 2011
- Dr. Kathy Schilling - "PET-guided Breast Biopsy" Imaging Technology News, June, 2011
- Dr. Mary Hayes - "Breast PET in Clinical Practice - A Florida Health System's Experience with PEM" Radiology Today, June, 2011
- Jean Ewing, RT, PET - "Transforming Breast Cancer Detection" Advance for Imaging & Radiation Oncology, October, 2011

Join Our Naviscan Social Media Community
We are pleased to announce the official launch of our Naviscan Facebook page and Twitter feed @Naviscan.  The goal of the campaign is to better connect with both our customers and patients who may benefit from PEM to help guide their treatment and to share the latest news from Naviscan.  So please "Like" us on Facebook or "Follow" us on Twitter.  We promise to like and follow you back!

Upcoming Presentations
Below is a preliminary list of some upcoming podium presentations this fall:

- Dr. Mary Mahoney from the Univeristy of Cincinnati on PEM at the Breast Imaging Conference in Orlando, FL

- Dr. Michael Hofmann from Hannover University (Germany) entitled Radiochemistry Horizons, and Clinical Experience with Naviscan PEM at the 5th International Workshop on the Molecular Radiology of Breast Cancer in Valencia, Spain

- Dr. Wendie Berg from the University of Pittsburgh at RSNA 2011 in Chicago, IL will present two talks:

♦ Nuclear Medicine Breast Imaging: Current Status and Future Directions 

♦ Positron Emission Mammography and Molecular Breast Imaging

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