DENVILLE, NJ--January 22, 2007-- Lantis Laser Inc. (PINKSHEETS:LLSR)--NEWS (www.lantislaser.com) Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is considered the 6th and newest imaging modality for biomedical imaging. Light-based and without emitting radiation, OCT in-the-mouth imaging in dentistry has an unprecedented high resolution of up to 10 times dental x-ray and enables dentists to detect very early stages of oral diseases such as decay and periodontal disease. Early detection allows the dentist to employ non- or minimally invasive treatment to enhance the standard of patient care.
Lantis has the exclusive rights to commercialize the application of OCT in the dental field, under its license Agreements with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and LightLab Imaging. OCT, discovered in the early 1990's at MIT, has been very successfully commercialized by Carl Zeiss Meditec in the ophthalmology field. In a press release on November 8th, 2006 they announced the sale of their 6000th OCT Stratus System, initially introduced in 2002. At an approximate retail price of $65,000 per System, this puts sales figures for the OCT Stratus System at almost $400 million. LightLab Imaging is commercializing OCT for cardiovascular imaging with systems currently being sold in Europe, with entry in the near future into the US and Japanese markets.
Lantis' OCT Dental Imaging System, currently in Phase II development, addresses the needs of dentists for an affordable, chairside diagnostic imaging system to provide accurate images that can be viewed on a chairside monitor, saved to the patient file, printed or transmitted for insurance purposes or consultation. Currently, dentist's mainstay in imaging is the x-ray that was introduced in 1885, 121 years ago, and still has many diagnostic shortcomings for the needs of modern dentistry. "An upgrade in dental imaging is long overdue and this is evidenced in current dental literature," said Stan Baron, President and CEO of Lantis.
Lantis is targeting to sell its OCT System through major distributors that have world-wide distribution. Target retail price for the OCT System is under $20,000 which puts it within reach of the majority of dentists. The world-wide potential market is estimated at 200,000 dental offices or $4 billion at retail. Lantis' management is highly confident that a market penetration of 5% can be achieved within 4 years of commencing marketing in the third quarter of 2008. Projected sales, at ex factory price, would amount to nearly $75 million for Lantis over this period, which would lay the foundation for an accelerated market penetration with increasing sales being booked for Lantis in future years to come.
Extensive research of OCT biomedical applications is being undertaken at many sites and the emerging importance of this modality is clearly evidenced by the large and varied research papers to be presented at the Photonics West/BiOS 2007 symposium in San Jose, CA, Jan 20-25th. Numerous research presentations in dentistry are also part of the program. Continuing development of OCT applications include the areas of cardiology, coronary bypass surgery, gastro-enterology, urology and cancer detection.
Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this press release, including statements regarding the anticipated development and expansion of Lantis' business, and the intent, belief or current expectations of Lantis, its directors or its officers, are forward-looking statements. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
This press release is available at http://www.pinksheets.com
Contact:
Lantis Laser Inc.
Stan Baron, President and CEO
sbaron@lantislaser.com Tel. (203) 300-7622
