SMS Begins Closeout Procedures for NIST Award

5 February 1999

    AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 5 -- Scientific Measurement Systems
(OTC Bulletin Board: SCMS) (SMS) announced today that it will begin closeout
procedures for its participation in the U.S. Department of Commerce's National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) award entitled "Volumetric X-ray
Scanner for Three Dimensional Characterization of Critical Objects."
    The company's request to extend the cooperative agreement was denied by
NIST due to the company's inability to continue to meet its financial
obligations under the terms of the award.  The company's efforts toward
securing the outside financing required to complete this program have been
unsuccessful to date.
    SMS' participation in the NIST program began in September of 1995 as a
collaborative effort among General Electric, General Motors, EG&G Reticon, and
SMS.  The company indicated that although it did not have the financial
ability to continue to fund the NIST program, it would continue to be active
in the improvement of its existing volumetric CT technology by independently
continuing its development efforts to bring to market its next-generation
'Ultrafast' CT technology.
    SMS designs, manufactures, and sells industrial CT equipment and services
to a worldwide customer base.  The company is a recognized leader in the
development and commercialization of CT technology.  CT provides a fully non-
destructive method for creating 2-D and 3-D data sets of an object, allowing
the user to examine both internal and external features.  SMS is a public
company traded on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol SCMS.  SMS is based
in Austin, Texas, and can be reached at 512-837-4712 or at http://www.sms-ct.com.