September 5, 2000

MEMORY TESTING CORPORATION BRINGS FUNCTIONAL MRI TESTING

TO REGIONAL HOSPITALS

New nonsurgical test provides enormous benefits for brain surgery patients

DAVIDSON, NC September 5, 2000 -- Neurosurgeons have a dynamic new way to increase quality of patient care and surgical outcome, thanks to an innovative procedure called Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging ( fMRI). fMRI expands conventional MRI technology by giving doctors a "functional map" of the brain.

fMRI is the magic tool used by John P. Brockway, Ph.D., president and CEO of Memory Testing Corporation (MTC) of Davidson, NC. The 25+ year educator, experimental psychologist and clinical researcher, lecturer and author is bringing fMRI to regional hospitals.

According to Dr. Brockway, fMRI pinpoints brain functions in action. fMRI supplements structural maps and ordinary MRI images by showing which areas of the brain become more active when a person thinks, speaks, moves, feels or remembers.

"'Function' is key," Dr. Brockway says. "Surgeons must preserve these areas if at all possible to support the patient's quality of life.

"Brains are as individual as fingerprints. And, as activity levels change, so does the precise location of different mental activities. The exact spot where the process occurs appears on the fMRI 'map' as pinpoints of light."

The benefits of fMRI are enormous because each map is patient-specific. Compared to existing mapping techniques, fMRI is non-invasive, safe, more specific, and increases patient outcome. fMRI costs hospitals and patients less than half that of traditional surgical tests. It is quicker and repeatable without ill effects.

In the near future, fMRI will allow better prediction of surgical outcome for epilepsy, tumor and ultimately stroke patients. Medical centers that support these clinical services will need to provide fMRI.

The mission of Memory Testing Corporation is to provide medical centers with the expertise and solutions to start and operate successful fMRI programs. MTC's highly trained professionals solve technical, network, web-based software and hardware challenges. They provide statistical image analyses, accurate image reconstruction, registration transmission and storage of images. They also provide accurate, complex images for use in operating rooms.

Dr. K. K. Kwong introduced fMRI in 1992, demonstrating the principles behind functional brain mapping using MRI. Since then, fMRI use has grown exponentially, but mostly in academic centers.

Dr. Brockway, working closely with neurologists and neurosurgeons, and having conducted hospital-based research, saw the possibility of using human memory, his specialty, and fMRI as testing tools. A chance to help people with life-threatening, devastating brain diseases inspired him to bring fMRI to regional hospitals.

Here's how fMRI works. The patient has a routine MRI brain scan, then fMRI protocols with specialized procedures are added. While the patient follows simple instructions like listening to a sentence, squeezing a rubber bulb, or wiggling the fingers, minute amounts of increased blood flowing in tiny blood vessels are detected and their location recorded. These scans are completely noninvasive and safe. Highly trained fMRI professionals then analyze up to 1500 images to create the functional map.

The extraordinary precision of fMRI is clearly important for neurosurgical planning. The surgeon may project and rotate the map on an operating room screen.

Dr. Brockway underscores the importance of nonsurgical testing with fMRI. "Suppose a neurosurgeon hopes to free a patient from epileptic seizures by removing a tumor. Previously, pinpointing the exact location of speech, memory and motor skills that lie next to the diseased site required brain surgery to implant electrodes.

"The beauty of fMRI is its ability to gather even better information without surgery or the injection of dyes. The most precise incision supports a cure while doing the least possible harm to healthy tissue. This could make the difference between being able to speak, see, and remember--or not. And fMRI is an outpatient procedure."

Memory Testing Corporation also provides a fully computerized neuropsychological Memory Test Battery used to evaluate twenty-three different kinds of human memory problems. MTC provides software for extensive preoperative testing for neurological evaluation of abnormal brain conditions in the elderly.

For details, visit www.memorytesting.com or contact Dr. Brockway at jpb@memorytesting.com

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