Biophan Announces Test Results of MRI Image, Stent Compatibility

Biophan Technologies, a developer of next-generation medical technology, announced results from testing of the company's patented technology that will enable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) within vascular stents, allowing physicians for the first time to assess the health of stented arteries by means of noninvasive MRI technology.

The technology revealed by Biophan employs the company's "active" MRI solutions that use proprietary resonant frequency circuitry to enable superior visualization within an MRI. The Biophan-Europe division, based in Germany and formerly known as AMRIS, developed the resonance circuit technology.

Evaluation of restenosis within a stent requires an additional interventional procedure -- either intravenous ultrasound or an angiography procedure involving the infusion of a potentially toxic contrast agent combined with imaging under X-ray. Biophan's technology to enable MRI within a stent would allow a noninvasive diagnostic procedure to provide similar data, eliminating the need for catheterization of the patient, exposure of the patient to ionizing radiation to obtain the X-ray image, and exposure of the patient to contrast agents.