Bio-logic Systems Corp. Awarded $100,000 Grant By The National Institute of Health for Feasibility Study

Company to Develop New, Cost-effective Clinical Method for Early and Accurate Detection of Smallest Acoustic Tumors.

MUNDELEIN, IL./PRNewswire/--Bio-logic Systems Corp. (Nasdaq: BLSC) reported that the National Institute of Hearing (NIH) awarded the company a $100,000 grant to implement a six-month study measuring the feasibility of a valuable new clinical evaluation method for the detection of acoustic tumors. Accurate and early detection of very small acoustic tumors, less than one centimeter,is difficult with standard Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) technology. As a result, expensive, enhanced MRI is now being used as the initial screening device for patients suspected of having this type of tumor. Bio-logic, in collaboration with research partner, House Ear Institute (HEI), Los Angeles, is developing a product that will be able to detect tumors as small as three to four millimeters at one-fifth the cost of an MRI procedure.

Testing performed with this advanced ABR system should help reduce the number of non-tumor patients being sent for MRI's. Using this faster, reliable and more cost-effective alternative as an initial screening device would therefore add significant value. MRI will still be the standard diagnostic method for those pateints whose ABR results are positive.

'Bio-logic is developing a Windows-based, compact version of our standard ABR system, which currently screens for both hearing disorders and acoustic tumors larger than one centimeter. As the exclusive licensee of HEI's new methodology for identifying much smaller tumors, we will develop the technology into a valuable modular option for our more efficient ABR system,' said Gabriel Raviv, chairman and chief executive officer. 'While standard ABR technology lost some ground to MRIs recently due to limited capabilities in small-tumor detection, our more advanced version of ABR:
--will have broader testing capability
--will be easier to operate than an MRI system and,
--at a substantially reduced cost per test, payors reimbursement liability will be much less and administrators incentive to use it, much greater.'

Manny Don, director of Electrophysiology at HEI, added, 'This NIH grant award will enable us to put new methods of tumor detection research into practical clinical use.'

Bio-logic expects to have the hand-held version of its standard ABR system available by May 2000. If the six-month feasibility study for detecting very small acoustic tumors is substantiated, Bio-logic can then apply for a Phase II grant from NIH of $750,000-$1 million for development of the advanced technology, and, once completed, will commercially market it worldwide as a modular feature of its ABR system.

Bio-logic Systems Corp., headquartered in Mundelein, IL., designs, develops, assembles and markets computer-based electrodiagnostic systems for use by hospitals, clinics, universities and physicians. The systems conduct tests that are typically used by medical practitioners to aid in the diagnosis of certain neurological disorders, brain disorders and tumors, and sensory disorders, including audiological and hearing screening and diagnosis.

The House Ear Institute (HEA), located in Los Angeles, is a world-renowned nonprofit scientific research and education center. Through research and education the Institute aims to improve the quality of life of those with ear disease, hearing, balance and related disorders. Scientists are exploring the causes of auditory disorders on the cellular and molecular level as well as refining the appication of auditory implants and hearing aids.

Safe Harbor Statement:
Except for descriptions of historical facts, this release contains forward-looking statements that involve known and unknown risks, which may cause the company's actual results in the future to differ materially from those currently anticipated. These risks include, among others, fluctuations in sales and operating results; the company's ability to recruit and train the necessary number of sales representatives and installation technicians; risks associated with internation operations including monetary crisis; regulatory, competitive, and contractual risks; the ability to successfully develop new technologies; the effects of economic conditions; any delays or additional costs associated with the marketing of the AuDX(R) product; and the availability of capital to finance planned growth, as well as other risks detailed from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Bio-logic Systems Corp.
https://www.bio-logic.om
CONTACT: Gabriel Raviv, CEO, 847-949-5200, or Roderick G. Johnson, President & COO, 312-949-5200, both of Bio-logic Systems; or General, Leslie Hunziker, 312-640-6760, Media, Darcy Bretz, 312-266-7800, or Investors, Leslie Loyet, 312-640-6672, all of the Financial Relations Board for Bio-logic Systems Corp.