Elekta to Deliver 3D Brain Mapping Technology to MPI CBS

STOCKHOLM, Sweden /BUSINESS WIRE/ -- Elekta has won a tender to deliver Elekta Neuromag, world-leading equipment for noninvasive registration of nerve cell activity using magnetoencephalography (MEG) technology, to the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science (MPI CBS) in Leipzig, Germany.

MPI CBS will upgrade its facilities and replace its current MEG equipment with a new Elekta Neuromag system. With the system from Elekta installed, neurosurgeons, neurologists, and psychiatrists at this renowned institution will be able to noninvasively register nerve cell activity in the brain in real time, better and more accurately than before. The highly innovative MaxFilter software filters all magnetic interferences and artifacts, both internal and external, and provides an analysis with more reliable data. MEG technology is for many reasons regarded as the "most efficient method for tracking brain activity in real time," and Elekta offers a comprehensive state-of-the-art system. Compared to EEG, MEG has unique sensitivity capabilities. MEG also offers functional mapping information and measurement of brain activity in real time, unlike computer tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI and fMRI), which only provide structural, anatomical, and metabolic information. As an important complement to these technologies, MEG increases the ability to understand brain activity and to improve treatment of functional disorders in the brain.

The MPI CBS, a research institute of the world famous Max-Planck Gesellschaft, is performing fundamental research revolving around human cognitive abilities and cerebral processes. Ongoing research looks into the perception of language, music, actions, and their outcome; the planning and generation of language and activity; and the interaction between, and common functional principles of, generation and perception in various cognitive fields.

"Elekta is and has always been dedicated to fighting serious disease and we can see a great untapped potential in MEG. MEG is already a proven technology with great value in brain research. Currently we see much exciting development going on in the field of clinical applications and Elekta is fully committed to leading this development and bring its possibilities into clinical use, benefiting patients all over the world" says Tomas Puusepp, President and CEO of Elekta and continues "As the only MEG vendor on the market with the financial stability needed to be committed to the long-term development of MEG technology, we are alone in being able to offer long-term relationships and ensure future development of the platform and its applications, thereby securing the customers' investment."

MaxDiagnose, new analysis support tool presented at Biomag 2006
At the Biomag 2006 meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, at the end of August, Elekta showed a strong presence and leadership to the field of MEG. During the conference, Elekta presented the "first dedicated clinical analysis system," MaxDiagnose, for MEG. A system with several timesaving functionalities aimed at enabling routine clinical investigations and diagnostics, MaxDiagnose makes it possible to carry out the analysis of an epilepsy measurement in less than an hour, which is a breakthrough in the use of MEG. The major bottleneck in the clinical application of the technology, routine analysis of extended measurements, will now finally be feasible. MaxDiagnose will be commercially available later this year.

Elekta Neuromag
The Elekta Neuromag 306 MEG channels sensor array has "higher density than any other system on the market and thus covers the brain better with a better representation of brain activity than any other MEG system," with the "industry's lowest" noise-to-signal ratio, meaning that more useful information is acquired with the "highest yield of information per sample."

The unique design of the sensors, combined with advanced software, makes it possible to gain data with "unsurpassed detail," even from the deepest realms of the brain. The system also has the "highest available immunity to magnetic interference, either patient-related or external." Elekta Neuromag also has the "lowest operational costs, with the longest liquid helium refill interval." Elekta Neuromag is technically one of the most sophisticated MEG/EEG devices available on the market today.

Elekta Neuromag, MaxDiagnose, and MaxFilter are trademarks of Elekta AB. Certain products or functionality described herein, are pending regulatory clearance for marketing in the U.S.

About Elekta
Elekta is an international medical-technology group, providing meaningful clinical solutions and comprehensive information systems and services for improved cancer care and management of brain disorders. All of Elekta's solutions employ noninvasive or minimally invasive techniques and are therefore clinically effective, gentle on the patient, and cost effective.

Clinical solutions include among others Leksell Gamma Knife for noninvasive treatment of brain disorders and Elekta Synergy for image guided radiation therapy. Following the acquisition of IMPAC Medical Systems Inc. in April 2005, the Elekta Group is the "world's largest supplier of oncology software."

Elekta's systems and solutions are used at over 4000 hospitals around the world to treat cancer and manage clinical operations, as well as to diagnose and treat brain disorders, including tumors, vascular malformations, and functional disorders.

With approx. 2000 employees, Elekta's corporate headquarter is located in Stockholm, Sweden. For more information about Elekta, please visit the company's Web site.