Emergency Rescue Service in South Romania and Bucharest Use Novel Device to Facilitate Care of Head Trauma Victims 

Philadelphia, PA -- December 10, 2010 – InfraScan, a private US-based medical device firm specializing in brain injury diagnostic products, announced today that its distributor in Romania, Prion 

Poct, has signed a contract with Serviciul Mobil de Urgenta, Reanimare si Descarcerare (SMURD, an emergency rescue service based in Romania). The contract is for supply of 96 Infrascanner brain hematoma detector systems to equip SMURD’s emergency infrastructure in south Romania and in Bucharest. The Infrascanner is a small, completely portable screening device, which can detect the presence and location of a brain hematoma based on differential NIR light absorption of a hematoma and normal brain tissue. It is the first hand-held device of its kind designed to assist first responders and emergency room personnel in identifying life threatening brain hematomas, and allowing expedient assessment of patients and facilitating crucial treatment. 

“The InfraScan team is very pleased to work with SMURD and to receive their endorsement in a mass deployment of the Infrascanner,” said Baruch Ben Dor, PhD, president and CEO of InfraScan. “The Infrascanner can significantly improve the identification of patients who need emergent neurosurgical intervention. The system may be very useful in remote locations in civilian or military settings as well as for screening in larger hospitals.” 

While Computerized Axial Tomography Scanners (CATor CT scan) are currently the diagnostic standard for hematomas, many head trauma patients do not quickly receive a CT scan – either because of remote accident site or lack of CT availability. For patients with brain hematomas, rapid identification of the bleeding can play a significant role in efforts to maximize preservation of life and brain function. The Infrascanner can facilitate rapid identification by prioritizing patients for CT scanning and triaging patients requiring transport to a facility with neurosurgery capability. It can be especially helpful in remote areas with poor medical and transportation infrastructure. 

“We have successfully tested the Infrascanner in the emergency room of the central SMURD Floresca Hospital in Bucharest for the past year and are convinced that this is a reliable and essential tool for screening of head trauma patients,” said Dr. Bogdan Oprita, MD, SMURD’s coordinator. “Infrascanner’s early detection of brain hematomas in the field will shorten crucial evacuation time and help in more efficient resources management within hospitals. Infrascanner value was clearly demonstrated on a recent weekend when 36 head trauma patients were admitted at the same time to the Floresca hospital after a violent soccer game between Dinamo Bucharest and Steaua Bucharest. Infrascanner was used in the Emergency Room in prioritization of those 36 people for CT scanning and surgery.”

In the general population, an estimated 1.5 million inpiduals seek medical treatment for head trauma in the U.S. each year, and over 10 million people seek head trauma treatment annually worldwide. The Infrascanner has obtained its CE mark, European marketing clearance, and is now being marketed in Russia, Italy, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Austria, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and India. Further sales and marketing networks are being established in additional countries and regions. The product is currently under review with FDA and is limited to investigational use in the US. The FDA application is for use in hospital settings as part of the clinical workup to triage high risk patients who may be in need of more urgent intervention. The application for use in ambulances and in locations without CT scanners is not intended for the USA, and is limited to the CE mark accepting countries. 

About InfraScan – InfraScan, Inc. is a medical device company that focuses on developing, commercializing and distributing hand-held diagnostic devices for head injury and stroke based on near infrared (NIR) technologies. The company has received funding from the U.S. Marine Corps, Office of Naval Research, BioAdvance, the Biotechnology Greenhouse of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and from the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation. For more information visit www.infrascanner.com.

Corporate Contact:

• Baruch Ben Dor, PhD 
• President and CEO 
• InfraScan, Inc. 
• 215-387-6784