Fonar Stand-UpT MRI scans mother and non-sedated child watching cartoons on TV

MELVILLE, NEW YORK, June 14, 2004 - FONAR Corporation (NASDAQ-FONR), The MRI SpecialistT, announced today that the Stand-UpT MRI at Hospital de Madrid in Madrid, Spain performed in November of 2003 a historic "first" in the field of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), by scanning an infant sitting on its mother's lap. The scan was successful and the infant's problem diagnosed. This is a remarkable event because it shows that the revolutionary Stand-UpT MRI can possibly be used to avoid the use of anesthesia for MRI exams in a substantial percentage of children currently requiring it.

"The child was an active two-year-old," said Juan Abarca, M.D., president of Hospital de Madrid Monteprincipe. "The open architecture of the Stand-UpT MRI made it possible for us to scan the child sitting on his mother's lap, from where he could sit still and watch cartoons on a large, 42-inch plasma TV. We wrapped the surface coil (the belt-shaped antenna that picks up the tiny radio signals that make up the MRI picture) around both the mother and the child and were able to obtain images from the lumbar region of the child." The child was diagnosed with syringomyelia, a disorder in which a cyst forms within the spinal cord.

"We were very happy that we were able to make the diagnosis without having to anesthetize the child." Raymond Damadian, M.D., president and founder of Fonar said, "Dr. Abarca performed a ground breaking MRI scan. In the present day practice of childhood MRI scanning, the great majority of children under the age of 7 must be put to sleep with anesthesia in order to eliminate any movement during scanning, thereby requiring continuous vital signs monitoring by a physician in attendance.

With a child comfortably sitting on its mother's lap, transfixed by a 42-inch TV showing a popular children's program, the risks and costs of anesthesia can possibly be eliminated.