Timothy Damadian Named President and CEO of FONAR

MELVILLE, NY--(Marketwired - Feb 8, 2016) - FONAR Corporation (NASDAQ: FONR), The Inventor of MR Scanning™, announced today that effective February 11, 2016, Timothy Damadian, the elder son of Dr. Raymond V. Damadian, has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of FONAR Corporation. Dr. Damadian, the inventor of MR scanning and founder of FONAR Corporation, will remain Chairman of the Board.

Dr. Damadian said, "Since 2010, FONAR has posted 22 consecutive profitable quarters, a remarkable achievement. I can say unequivocally that this extraordinary success is entirely attributable to the contributions of Tim and the management team he assembled."

The largest area of growth was in the company's diagnostic imaging management segment, Health Management Corporation of America (HMCA). 

"FONAR engaged Tim as a consultant in February 2010," continued Dr. Damadian, "at which time I entrusted him with managerial, financial and operational control of the company's business and affairs. At the time HMCA was managing 9 MRI facilities (6 in New York and 3 in Florida) that had completed approximately 29,000 scans in 2009. Over the course of the previous 10 years, Tim had independently built and eventually sold an enormously successful MRI management company of his own, Integrity Healthcare Management, Inc. We wanted him to bring his proven expertise to HMCA.

"Tim brought in the management team that helped him build Integrity and replaced most of the existing HMCA management both at corporate headquarters and at the MRI scanning facilities. We totally embraced Tim's vision for HMCA and immediately implemented his ideas, methods and business plan. By growing HMCA's existing facilities, establishing de novo centers, and by acquisitions, the company now manages 25 facilities (18 in New York and 7 in Florida) that completed over 150,000 scans in 2015.

"As far as I'm concerned, making Tim the president and CEO of FONAR will be a seamless transition. For all practical purposes he and his management team have been providing FONAR with the vision, direction, and management skills accounting for FONAR's success over the past six years. He's also been heavily involved with development of FONAR technology, where his keen understanding of the MRI marketplace and the needs and trends of MRI practitioners has been invaluable in helping me to guide the company's R&D program. Tim is the perfect fit to ensure FONAR's success for years to come."

The new president and CEO said, "It is, of course, a great honor that my father has entrusted me with this responsibility. As we all know, Dr. Damadian founded this company and has tirelessly devoted himself to it for nearly 40 years. I'm delighted that he remains Chairman of the Board and will continue to concentrate on R&D, develop exciting and innovative new products, and advance the industry with indispensible MRI applications. Over all those years, his genius and passion for science and technology is as vibrant as it was back in 1971 when he conceived the idea of an MR scanner that could scan the human body. Then, in 1977, he built the very first whole-body MR scanner, which, in July of that year, produced the first human MR image."

Timothy Damadian - A Brief History

In 1985, at the age of 21, Tim Damadian began his career at FONAR installing magnets, shielded rooms and electronics for FONAR customers all over the world. Over the course of the next 16 years, he worked his way up the corporate ladder, eventually becoming Vice President of Operations. In 1997, Tim formed Health Management Corporation of America (HMCA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of FONAR that, under his leadership, would soon manage dozens of medical and diagnostic imaging offices that generated approximately $40 million in revenue and $7 million in EBITDA for HMCA.

In 2001, Tim left FONAR to form Integrity Healthcare Management, Inc., a diagnostic imaging management company that would eventually manage 11 MRI scanning centers in New York and Florida. The company was a huge success and was sold to Health Diagnostics in 2007. Tim returned to FONAR as a consultant in 2010.

About FONAR

FONAR (NASDAQ: FONR), Melville, NY, The Inventor of MR Scanning™, was incorporated in 1978, and is the first, oldest and most experienced MRI company in the industry. FONAR introduced the world's first commercial MRI in 1980, and went public in 1981. FONAR's signature product is the FONAR UPRIGHT® MRI (also known as the Stand-Up® MRI), the only whole-body MRI that performs Position™ imaging (pMRI™) and scans patients in numerous weight-bearing positions, i.e. standing, sitting, in flexion and extension, as well as the conventional lie-down position. The FONAR UPRIGHT® MRI often sees the patient's problem that other scanners cannot because they are lie-down and "weightless-only" scanners. The patient-friendly UPRIGHT® MRI has a near-zero claustrophobic rejection rate by patients. As a FONAR customer states, "If the patient is claustrophobic in this scanner, they'll be claustrophobic in my parking lot." Approximately 85% of patients are scanned sitting while they watch a 42" flat screen TV. FONAR is headquartered on Long Island, New York.

UPRIGHT® and STAND-UP® are registered trademarks and The Inventor of MR Scanning™, Full Range of Motion™, Multi-Position™, Upright Radiology™, The Proof is in the Picture™, True Flow™, pMRI™, Spondylography™, Dynamic™, Spondylometry™, CSP™, and Landscape™, are trademarks of FONAR Corporation.

This release may include forward-looking statements from the company that may or may not materialize. Additional information on factors that could potentially affect the company's financial results may be found in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.