Siemens Healthcare and IMRIS join together to bring unique hybrid ORs to Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Sweden

VISIUS Surgical Theatre with intraoperative MRI included in first of its kind Northern Europe installation

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, Jan. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - IMRIS Inc. (NASDAQ: IMRS; TSX: IM) ("IMRIS" or the "Company") today announced that a VISIUS Surgical Theatre with intraoperative MRI (iMRI) will be integrated among four hybrid operating suites Siemens Healthcare recently sold to Sahlgrenska University Hospital in an example of growing cooperation between IMRIS and Siemens Healthcare.

"This represents the close and progressing global collaboration IMRIS has with Siemens Healthcare to bring advanced imaging to the operating environment," said IMRIS President and CEO Jay D. Miller. "Already many of the top neuroscience centers around the world are making intraoperative MR their standard of care."

Sahlgrenska University Hospitals, one of the largest hospital systems in northern Europe, is associated with the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg in Gothenburg, Sweden. This sale involves both radiology and MRI systems in four hybrid operating rooms for the hospital's new imaging center with clinical opening planned in 2016.

"The benefit for the patient is obvious with minimally invasive surgery since he or she can leave the hospital much sooner," said Johan Mälsjö, Head of Division of Imaging and Therapy at Siemens Healthcare in Sweden, regarding the sale. "This is also beneficial for the hospital which needs to manage its resources carefully. Siemens Healthcare sees a strong trend in this and expects an increasing demand for similar solutions."

The VISIUS iMRI will feature a two-room suite where a diagnostic quality MR travels to the patient using ceiling-mounted rails. The fully integrated suite allows the scanner to move between an operating room (OR) and a diagnostic room, providing neurosurgeons on-demand access to high resolution images – before, during and after procedures – without moving the patient from the OR table. Published studies have demonstrated that access to advanced imaging technology during procedures leads to improved precision and patient outcomes and reduced returns to surgery, particularly for neurosurgical conditions.

About IMRIS
IMRIS (NASDAQ: IMRS; TSX: IM) is a global leader in providing image guided therapy solutions through its VISIUS Surgical Theatre – a revolutionary, multifunctional surgical environment that provides unmatched intraoperative vision to clinicians to assist in decision making and enhance precision in treatment. The multi-room suites incorporate diagnostic quality high-field MR, CT and angio modalities accessed effortlessly in the operating room setting. VISIUS Surgical Theatres serve the neurosurgical, spinal, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular markets and have been selected by 61 leading medical institutions around the world. Learn more by visiting www.imris.com.

SOURCE IMRIS Inc.