Varian and SSI sign reseller's agreement

Varian, Inc. (NasdaqGS: VARI) announced today that Steady State Imaging (SSI) has signed a reseller's agreement with Varian, Inc. regarding SSI's new SWIFT Software for Varian's research MRI Systems. SWIFT is a novel MRI technology that advances existing MR techniques with the ability to silently image structures and tissues previously invisible to conventional MRI systems.

SWIFT allows the extension of MRI to high quality imaging of tissues such as bone and cartilage, where X-ray imaging methods are now commonly used. SWIFT is expected to open new avenues in pre-clinical research areas such as cancer detection, drug labeling and tracking, and combination MR-PET applications.

SSI's SWIFT Software encompasses the company's patented breakthrough MRI technology developed by Dr. Michael Garwood at the University of Minnesota's Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR).

"Varian has been a valued contributor to the development of SWIFT and we are delighted to be able to offer our commercialized technology to their customers for use in research," said Danny Cunagin, CEO of Steady State Imaging. "It is important to get SWIFT in the hands of researchers around the world. This collaboration with Varian will help unlock the full potential of our technology," added Cunagin.

"We are very pleased to be able to bring this new technology to the Varian imaging community. The SWIFT imaging technique solves some of the classic limitations in MRI such as imaging solid structures in the pre-clinical setting. This technique will be a valued addition to the techniques available in pre-clinical/research MRI," said David Rayner, Vice President, Research Products, Varian, Inc.

Varian will be offering the SWIFT Software package on their MRI systems. It will enable researchers to explore new applications in several new areas including stem-cell research, materials analysis, drug development and drug tracking.