NovaRay Medical, Inc. announced that the company is continuing to successfully meet its operational milestones designed to bring the ScanCath to market later this year. NovaRay has targeted shipment of the first systems by the end of 2009. ScanCath provides enhanced image quality, real-time multi-slice tomography, and a dramatic reduction in radiation exposure for both physicians and patients with open patient access. The technology, which is protected by 23 issued US patents, has been clinically validated at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The company also has received 510(k) marketing clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “2008 was a pivotal year for NovaRay Medical,” said Jack Price, president and CEO of NovaRay. “In addition to the $10 million raised at the end of 2007, we also completed an additional $10 million round of financing with Vision Capital Advisors, moved to a new, 41,000 square-foot manufacturing and development facility, had our S-1 declared effective by the SEC, appointed Will Frederick as our new chief financial officer and initiated a strategic marketing plan that is expected to lead to the launch of the ScanCath into the $1.1 billion cardiac catherization market later this year.” Since the beginning of 2009, the company has begun testing x-ray sources that have been built in NovaRay’s new manufacturing facility. Fabrication also has started for the first two ScanCath systems that include a next-generation gantry, high-resolution x-ray source and high-speed reconstruction engine. Additional objectives for the remainder of the year include the signing of customer partnership agreements for the initial systems and showcasing the ScanCath during the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2009 Conference in September in San Francisco. The company expects to locate ScanCath systems at the initial customer partnership sites with on-site technical support where they will be utilized in clinical settings to demonstrate the advantages of ScanCath over other current higher radiation x-ray systems. “Having met all of our 2008 milestones, we believe now is an excellent time to initiate a leadership transition at NovaRay,” said Ms. Wijcik, chairman of NovaRay’s board of directors. “Effective March 1, 2008, Marc Whyte will be succeeding Jack Price as president and CEO. Mr. Whyte is a founder of NovaRay and has been instrumental in growing NovaRay from a small private company to a successful public company.” Ms. Wijcik continued, “Jack helped the company at a critical point in its growth and we look forward to his continued contributions and assistance with the strategic and market direction of the company as a member of the NovaRay board. With this transition, the Board is confident that we have the right management team in place to meet our 2009 milestones and provide physicians and hospitals with an innovative x-ray system that offers enhanced image quality with lower radiation for both patients and clinicians.”