It was brought to my attention by an interested shareholder that the importance of the recent improvements to the BioSentry wasn't made entirely clear. Here's a brief overveiw of how these improvements to the system make it relevent to the pharmaceutical market:

-- High temperature compatibility for water for injection (WFI) and sanitation requirements
Water for Injection is the highest purity water the pharmaceutical companies generate to be used in drug products that may be injected intravenously into patients. It must be sterile and needs to be monitored closely. It is used in many other drug and health care products as well in order to maintain the highest product quality. Sanitation makes sure that the BioSentry is sterile when connected to a WFI water line and is a requirement for use in pharmaceutical plants.

-- Use of pharmaceutical-grade materials including a 316L stainless steel flow cell
Stainless steel is the industry standard for material quality because of its resistance to corrosion and ability to withstand high temperatures.

-- Automatic flow control
Flow-through instruments require precise control of the water going through the system to provide consistency and accuracy in test results. Pressure fluctuations are common in these types of systems, which can effect the flow speed. The BioSentry improvement assists in stabilizing the flow under a variety of conditions, providing improved test accuracy.

-- Auto-sanitization
The auto sanitization feature sterilizes the unit automatically (versus manually) so it reduces maintenance and ensures that the system is always clean. This is obviously of great importance in a pure water environment.

Recently, there has been a surge of activity involving our BriteLight™ laser system. Most significant is the recent news of a system redesign to be used as a double pulse plasma laser for the detection of explosives and drugs. While this is extremely positive, it has caused shareholders to wonder what is happening with BioSentry, as there has not been any recent news. To reassure you that all is well and still progressing, here are several items of interest:

• JMAR currently has a BioSentry technician in the Netherlands installing a system at Interline/Vitens. As stated in the press release announcing the sale of the system, Vitens is the largest water company in The Netherlands, serving more than 5.4 million customers. This is the second installation of a BioSentry System in Europe this year.
• The EPA finished their initial testing and the system continues to operate at their facility 24/7 for long term evaluation. We have been told by the EPA that the final report will not be out until late 2007. All responses from the Agency regarding the testing and performance of the BioSentry have been highly positive.
• JMAR is preparing for an in-house demonstration of the BioSentry for a major pharmaceutical company's senior scientist. Early on, JMAR identified the pharmaceutical industry as being a high-potential market for the BioSentry. This demonstration marks a real milestone in our efforts to penetrate this complex market.

I had received an inquiry from a shareholder regarding EPA test results to which I sent the following response (I was remiss in not posting this sooner - my apologies):

Our CEO reports that EPA testing of the BioSentry™ for the security application was recently completed, and that the EPA plans to issue a compilation of the tests and the test results. While we don’t have an exact time frame, we anticipate the report will be published in the next several weeks. However, we do not anticipate that the report will contain comparative data or make definitive statements regarding the testing performed. The EPA does not provide endorsements for products.

The statements in our 10K were based on verbal discussions with EPA officials. However, individuals or companies in the water industry will now be able to view the report and draw conclusions regarding the BioSentry’s performance and its value for their specific applications.

"Using patented technology from JMAR Technologies(San Diego, CA) in which an elliptical laser beam is used to improve material ablation, scientists at Coherent (Santa Clara, CA) and HBL (Daejeon, Korea) have determined the optimum focal-spot geometry for diode-pumped solid-state Q-switched lasers, which will improve singulation (cutting) of thin silicon wafers. "

Read the rest of the article at Laser Focus World . . .
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"While increased funding was the most noted applications need, an overwhelming number of workshop participants noted a lack of real-time detection and monitoring technology as the primary research need."

Shortcut to Homeland Security Report

JMAR will be starting EPA testing on the BioSentry by the end of the year.

Recently, we’ve been putting a great deal of our focus on the BioSentry System. This might have given the impression that there is not a lot happening with our other divisions. Here’s a quick update on recent activity with our BriteLight Laser System:

In September, JMAR successfully installed a new power upgrade (from 17 to 40W) to the BrightLight DPSS Laser System previously purchased by WonKwang University, South Korea. The BrightLight Laser is an integral part of the soft x-ray water window microscope currently being developed in Korea. This performance increase of more than 200% will significantly shorten exposure times and facilitate the continued drive for higher resolution imaging of biological samples.

We've been receiving many calls and messages asking us what we can do about detecting the E. coli being found on spinach. "Why isn't JMAR doing something? Isn't this a prime application for BioSentry™?"

Well, it's understandable why it would appear so - water plus E. coli should equal BioSentry. Unfortunately, that isn't always going to be the case. This is not an application that the BioSentry can address with needed accuracy. While it is still unknown where the contamination originated, most people believe the water used to irrigate the spinach was the source, which could be a stream, river or lake. This water type, typically referred to as Source water, is filled with dirt and other particulates which actually saturate the BioSentry's detection system, disabling its ability to differentiate microorganisms, such as E. coli, from the debris.

The current BioSentry is designed to work in ‘treated’ and highly purified water. Source water is treated by your local water utility—filtered to remove debris, chlorinated, then followed by a number of other process steps in order to make the water suitable for drinking, and suitable for monitoring by the BioSentry.

While today's Biosentry is not capable of addressing this E. coli issue, it is in JMAR's development plan to evolve the System, over time, to operate in Source water applications with the same level of accuracy that it does in treated water.