ELEKTA NEUROMAG® RECEIVES REGULATORY APPROVAL IN CANADA
PRESS RELEASE Stockholm, Sweden, March 23, 2005 The worlds most advanced system for non-invasive registration of neuronal activity using magnetoencephalography (MEG) technology, is now available also for Canadian neurosurgery, neurology and psychiatry centers.
On March 11, 2005, Health Canada – the Canadian federal health department – announced that Elekta Neuromag® is cleared for sale within the Canadian health care system. MEG is a powerful tool for studying normal brain function as well as brain disorders, enhancing the ability to understand human brain function. Clinically, MEG is used to localize epileptic discharges in patients suffering from epilepsy and is also used to localize major functional centers in the brain that control motor, somatosensory, auditory, vision and language – information that is of high value in pre-surgical planning in neurosurgery. With a 306 channel sensor array, Elekta Neuromag® is the world’s most advanced MEG system, superior to alternatives by design. The system covers a larger brain area by using a more dense array of sensors. Elekta Neuromag® additionally deploys a unique dual sensor system – using both gradiometers and magnetometers – giving an unmatched representation of brain activity. With the markets’ lowest system noise and highest yield of information per temporal sample of the MEG field distribution, more useful information is acquired in each diagnostic session, further enhanced by the unique Signal Space Separation software from Elekta, which differentiates brain signals from external interference. “The regulatory approval in Canada is an important step in our effort to broaden the market for this exciting new technology”, says Anthony DeCarolis, President and CEO of Elekta, Inc. and head of Elekta’s operations in North America. “We see a clear interest from leading institutions and are proud to invite Canadian researchers and clinicians to the growing international network of Elekta Neuromag® research centers. ********