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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON -- (Marketwire) -- 02/21/13 -- VentriPoint Diagnostics (TSX VENTURE: VPT) (OTCQX: VPTDF) is pleased to announce the completion of a software package for 3D Echocardiography (3DE) - the newest addition to the software capabilities of its knowledge-based-reconstruction (KBR) family of VMS™ heart analysis systems. The VMS-3DE™ product works with all existing KBR databases and so can be applied to Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), dextro-Transposition of the Great Arteries (d-TGA), Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) and most right ventricles (NRV) without congenital heart disease or PAH including normal hearts.

"The VMS-3DE™ heart analysis system addresses a direct need in the ultrasound community by providing fast and accurate analyses of 3D acquired images of the right ventricle, which, up until now, has presented a significant challenge," stated Dr. George Adams, CEO of VentriPoint. "3D echocardiographic imaging has continued to improve and for more and more patients (usually children) clinically-useful images can now be obtained. But there has been a void in available tools to accurately analyze the right ventricle. Our new product fills this void and positions Ventripoint as a leader in this emerging segment of the market".

Initial clinical evaluation of the VMS-3DE™ product was performed at the Heart and Diabetes Center North Rhine-Westphalia, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany. The evaluation yielded excellent results in functional analysis of the right ventricle in pediatric patients without congenital heart disease using the NRV database. The results of the initial study have been submitted for presentation at the 24th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Society of Echocardiography.

"This study shows excellent accuracy and reproducibility of VMS-3DE™ for RV volumetry in children and young adults compared to the gold standard cardiac MRI", said Dr. K.T. Laser, cardiologist at Heart and Diabetes Center North Rhine-Westphalia.

Many cardiac centres have purchased 3D ultrasound machines in the last 5 years, but have struggled to use them due to image quality and time-consuming analysis tools. The VMS-3DE™ heart analysis system is a software-only version of the VMS™ family, which allows importation of 3D images acquired without the need for the addition of tracking hardware. The implication of analyzing 3D images allows the clinician an additional tool to utilize in managing their patients.

There are many applications where evaluating the right ventricle is key and where using our 3D analysis software could have a great impact on patient outcomes. In the U.S. alone, more than 10,000 newborns are treated in the neonatal intensive care units each year for persistent pulmonary hypertension. Many times treating these patients is complicated by not being able to obtain functional analysis of the right ventricle from traditional echocardiographic studies. Adding the ability to provide the clinician accurate right ventricular volumes and function should prove to have a positive impact on the outcomes in these patients.