Littleton, Mass. -- Breakaway Imaging^TM, LLC, a leading developer of medical imaging systems for surgery, announces the debut of its proprietary imaging platform, the O-arm^TM at the North American Spine Society Meeting in Philadelphia, Sept. 27-Oct.1. The Company also announces the issuance of their first and key patent, broadly protecting the design of their unique telescoping gantry system (U.S. Patent No. 6,940,941). On the heels of receiving FDA 510(k) pre-market notification in May of this year, the culmination of these two events marks a key milestone in Breakaway's execution of their plan to commercialize their technology.

"Having this patent issued, especially in conjunction with our product introduction, is vital to our ability to protect the proprietary design of our technology," comments Gene Gregerson, chief technology officer and co-founder of Breakaway Imaging. "This is the first in a line of patents being prosecuted towards issuance. Being able to clearly differentiate the unique contributions we have made is of key importance," continues Gregerson.

"As a surgeon who has focused on developing minimally invasive techniques for spine surgery, I find the O-arm design to be ideal for spinal navigation and placement of instrumentation in these cases," says Kevin Foley, M.D., professor of neurosurgery at the University of Tennessee. "I believe that the O-arm will allow more surgeons to safely and efficiently perform minimally invasive and traditional open spinal surgical cases."
Breakaway Imaging is committed to developing and marketing their innovative imaging technology, targeted at accelerating the adoption of advanced minimally invasive medical procedures, as a platform for use in numerous specialties. The O-arm combines single and multi-planar 2-D (fluoroscopy) with cone-beam volumetric (3-D) imaging. The system is mobile, able to access patients laterally, and is controlled using high precision robotics. The company is initially targeting the O-arm for use in orthopedic and spine procedures, and received FDA 510(k) approval this year.

Headquartered in Littleton, Mass., and founded in early 2002, Breakaway is a privately held, medical device company. For more information, please visit
www.breakawayimaging.com or email: info@breakawayimaging.com.

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