ST. PAUL, Minn., Nov. 29, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aetrium Incorporated
(Nasdaq:ATRM) announced today that Joseph C. Levesque, its chairman of
the board, has been appointed to serve as president and chief executive
officer. Mr. Levesque served as the company's president and chief
executive officer from 1986 to 2011, and replaces John J. Pollock in
those positions on an interim basis, pending appointment of a permanent
replacement.

"I am pleased to rejoin our excellent cadre of management personnel and
the rest of our dedicated and talented workforce on a daily basis in
our business operations," said Mr. Levesque. "We will continue to
execute on our strategies of winning new customers and market share
through the competitive advantages of our products and our superior
customer service, and outperforming our peers in our delivery of
profitability as industry conditions normalize."

Certain matters in this news release are forward-looking statements,
which are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those projected. Such risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, adverse domestic or
global economic conditions, slowing growth in the demand for
semiconductor devices, the volatility and cyclicality of the
microelectronics industry, changes in the rates of capital expenditures
by semiconductor manufacturers, progress of product development
programs, unanticipated costs associated with the integration or
restructuring of operations, and other risk factors set forth in the
Company's SEC filings, including its Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2010.

Aetrium, based in North St. Paul, Minnesota, is a leading supplier of
proprietary technologies and equipment that are used by the worldwide
semiconductor industry to test integrated circuits. The company's
products are used by customers to advance reliability, improve quality,
increase product yield or improve manufacturing processes. Aetrium's
common stock is publicly traded on the Nasdaq market under the symbol
ATRM. More information about Aetrium is available on the internet at
www.Aetrium.com.

The Aetrium Incorporated logo is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6943


CONTACT: Doug Hemer
         Aetrium Incorporated
         (651) 773-4274