Welcome to our new customer newsletter designed to keep you informed of developments at Resonance Health, such as customer service updates, patient case studies, and innovative research and development projects. In this issue you also have the chance to win a fantastic hamper simply by answering one easy question - the answer to which is somewhere in this newsletter, so read on for your chance to win!

With 30 MRI centres now activated across the world, FerriScan is becoming available in a growing number of countries, and becoming more accessible to patients around the world who require an accurate measurement of their liver iron concentration. As providers of the world's first non-invasive regulated MRI liver iron test, Resonance Health is uniquely positioned to meet the strong and growing demand from patients and clinicians and we thank you for your continuing support in improving health outcomes for patients suffering from iron overload conditions.

Stop the Press! 4 October 2005

Resonance Health has been awarded a Western Australian state government health supply contract. The contract ensures the supply of the FerriScan technology to all capable public hospital Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) centres in the State. The first MRI centre to offer FerriScan as part of the contract is located at Fremantle Hospital in Western Australia.

Patients will now be able to access FerriScan through the Western Australian public hospital system with no direct cost to the patient. Costs associated with the provision of the FerriScan service are reimbursed in full under the contract, with Resonance Health receiving its standard commercial fee for the provision of the FerriScan service.

When it comes to accuracy and health outcomes, FerriScan is proving to be the test of choice for both clinicians and patients. Hailed as a welcome advance by both disease organisations and medical institutes, FerriScan has significant advantages over other tests including liver biopsy, the current 'gold standard' for measuring liver iron concentration. In a quick comparison it's easy to see why FerriScan is the number one choice when it comes to accurate Liver Iron Concentration (LIC) testing.

Liver Biopsy

• Standard method for assessing LIC, quantitative, specific, sensitive, but invasive and painful and carries a higher risk of sampling error.
• Liver biopsy is not suitable for repeated measures.
• Liver biopsy has greater clinician liability risk and results take 7-14 days.
• Liver biopsy may involve a hospital stay and is an expensive surgical procedure.

FerriScan (MRI)

• Non-invasive, safe, widely
  available, assesses iron content accurately throughout the liver.
• Suitable for repeated
  measures.
• FerriScan results are fast - turnaround time is 2 business days.
• FerriScan is an outpatient procedure and is substantially less expensive and more accessible from most MRI scanners.

Resonance Health has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a major radiology service provider in the US for a pilot study in preparation for the commercial launch of FerriScan in the US. Under the new agreement a significant number of sites will be activated in the US in the next three months and both parties will collaborate on reimbursement strategy and launch plans.

The new partnership complements the continuing supply of FerriScan to US centres participating in clinical programs conducted by Novartis and the Thalassemia Clinical Research Network.

Dr James Williams, Managing Director of Resonance Health said: 'This partnership marks a major milestone in the global commercialisation of Ferriscan with the intent to supply FerriScan through a significant number of US MRI sites. With our forthcoming profile activities including attendance at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) and the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) conferences, to be held in the US during November and December, we are positioned to begin building our US revenue stream. ASH and ASSLD will attract more than 20,000 of the US and world's clinical specialists responsible for managing patients with iron disorders.'

MRI service providers looking to maximise income and expand their referral base can now become a Resonance Health Partner - giving organisations a chance to advance their service and experience a range of benefits exclusive to partners. Resonance Health is also forming agreements with pharmaceutical companies, providing the FerriScan service for clinical trials throughout the world and adding value to research and development in treating iron overload disorders. Partner benefits for MRI Centres include:

• Opportunity to market a unique new service.
• Optimise use of existing MRI Scanners.
• Maximise income from existing scanners.
• No outlay or initial cost.
• Expand referral base.
• Improve relationships with specialists.
• Gain advantage over competition.
• Meet strong and growing clinician and patient demand for new non-invasive early diagnosis of iron overload.

Resonance Health has already attracted partners throughout the world, including leading pharmaceutical organisations and MRI service providers. With 11 million people worldwide affected by iron overload disorders, becoming a partner can help advance your organisation and assist in providing a vital service for early diagnosis of iron overload. For organisations interested in finding out more about becoming a partner, call Glenn Smith, Marketing Director on +61 (0) 8 9286 5300 for details, or email info@ferriscan.com.

Following funding from the Australian Biotechnology Innovation Fund (BIF) in January 2005, the research and development team have been making headway towards the development of a new, non-invasive Fibrosis test. Well underway with the 'proof of concept' phase, this important research will determine whether the MRI data acquired by FerriScan can also be used to identify and quantify the presence of fibrosis and cirrhosis - potentially addressing a massive global health problem. (The picture above is just some of the work that has come out of the R&D team based on FerriScan).

Huge worldwide demand

With more than 4 million people affected in the US alone with Hepatitis C, which is a major cause of progressive liver fibrosis, there is a huge worldwide demand for a non-invasive, accurate test that quantifies fibrosis accurately and painlessly. Leading Biochemist Wanida Chua-anusorn who is heading up the research said:

'We are utilising the expertise and technology platform established by the existing FerriScan to extract more data from the MRI images to verify whether it is possible to produce a highly accurate fibrosis test. We are expecting to complete phase one of the research by January 2006. There is an extensive unmet need for non-invasive monitoring of patients with progressive liver diseases, so a test like this would have huge clinical application and open a broader market segment to our services.'

When airline pilot David Hamersley began suffering from fatigue, abdominal pain and breathlessness, it took 4 misdiagnoses and 14 months off work before a FerriScan put him back in the skies.

35 year old David Hamersley had been flying for years when he began suffering from the symptoms of iron overload - a condition often caused by Hemochromatosis, which affects 1 in 227 people in Australia. Despite being cleared of iron overload and being diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome by his General Practitioner and three specialists, David wasn't convinced and decided to take advantage of the new, non-invasive liver iron test, FerriScan. The FerriScan report quickly confirmed that David had significant iron overload and enabled a fourth specialist to diagnose and plan treatments immediately for the condition. David explained that without FerriScan his iron overload may well have remained undetected and he could have suffered serious liver damage as a result of iron toxicity.

A Correct Diagnosis

'After months of waiting to see specialists and many misdiagnoses, it was thanks to FerriScan that my specialist was able to make a correct diagnosis of iron overload and plan my treatments accurately. If I had been referred for a FerriScan in the first place, I could have saved 14 months off work and tens of thousands in lost income as well as avoided the impact it had on my family life.'

David is now back in the skies again with a clean bill of health and believes there should be a greater awareness of iron overload and early testing. 'It is relatively common but there is little awareness of this toxic killer. Now FerriScan provides that missing link and early diagnosis can be made easily.'

WIN A HAMPER!

For your chance to win, answer this quick question: How many people are affected by Hemochromatosis in Australia? a) 1 in 526, b) 1 in 227 or c) 1 in 954? Email your answers by November 30th to info@ferriscan.com. A winner from the correct entrants will be drawn and announced in the next newsletter. Good luck!