Healthcare Industry News: Cardiac Ablation
News Release - June 1, 2006
ESTECH Launches AFfirm(TM), First Cardiac Surgery Product Indicated for Use in the Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation
Innovative Device Provides Real Time Confirmation of Successful Treatment for Atrial FibrillationSAN RAMON, Calif.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--June 1, 2006--ESTECH announced today market launch of AFfirm(TM), an Atrial Fibrillation (AF) conduction block verification probe and the latest product innovation in ESTECH's drive to set a new standard in Atrial Fibrillation treatments.
AFfirm is the first cardiac surgery product approved for use in the treatment of Atrial Fibrillation, a serious heart disease affecting over five million people in the U.S. and Europe. AFfirm offers a powerful tool in Cardiac Ablation Treatment, a procedure using Radio Frequency energy to block abnormal electrical pathways in the heart. AFfirm assesses the effectiveness of these treatments, which create new electrical paths in the heart, resulting in improved cure rates. AFfirm's flexible design allows easy access to treatment sites, including minimally invasive or "stand alone" treatments for AF.
"This probe is exactly what we need -- a simple tool to verify the quality and effectiveness of our treatments. The bipolar component of the design gives the surgeon a more precise indication of treatment success," said Mathew Williams, M.D., Columbia University Medical Center, New York.
ESTECH's COBRA® technology uses a patented, intelligent temperature-based system that provides both optimal and reproducible results by regulating the Radio Frequency (RF) energy. The COBRA Adhere(TM) and Adhere XL(TM) are used by surgeons to block the electrical impulses that cause AF, which is a heart disease associated with serious complications and is the leading cause of stroke.
David Swanson, Ph.D., ESTECH Chief Technical Officer, stated, "The AFfirm pacing probe provides a convenient and reliable means for the surgeon to confirm the Cardiac Ablation procedure was successful. With the ESTECH approach, treatment success is evaluated based on conduction block, the gold standard used in electrophysiologic testing. We believe our approach to assessing Cardiac Ablation success is a far superior method to techniques used by other companies. AFfirm provides reliable confirmation surgeons can depend on, leading to improved patient cure rates, the goal of AF treatment."
About ESTECH
Headquartered in San Ramon, CA, ESTECH offers tools for least invasive techniques and traditional approaches to the procedures cardiac surgeons do every day -- coronary artery bypass, valve surgery, ablation and surgical treatment of congestive heart failure.
Source: ESTECH
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