Healthcare Industry News: PASCAL
News Release - September 25, 2006
OptiMedica Announces Clinical Outcomes of 1,200 Patients Treated with PASCAL Method of Photocoagulation
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--OptiMedica® Corp., a leading developer of ophthalmic therapeutic devices, today announced that Julia Haller, MD, Professor of Ophthalmology at Wilmer Eye Institute of Johns Hopkins Medical Center, presented new data at the Cannes Retina Festival 2006 (24th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Retinal Specialists) in France. The study demonstrated that the PASCAL® photocoagulator offers substantial advantages compared to conventional photocoagulation, including increased speed, precision and patient tolerance.In a presentation titled, "Initial Clinical Experience with a Patterned Scanning Laser (PASCAL) for the Treatment of Retinal Diseases," Dr. Haller reported on a pilot study of ten eyes comparing PASCAL photocoagulation to conventional photocoagulation. Patients were treated for proliferative diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema at Wilmer Eye Institute. The study demonstrated increased uniformity and precision of spot placement, substantially reduced treatment time and considerably improved patient tolerance in the treatment of proliferative diabetic retinopathy with PASCAL photocoagulation.
Dr. Haller also discussed the collective experience of PASCAL laser photocoagulation treatments conducted at five leading research institutions, including Wilmer Eye Institute of Johns Hopkins University, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Stanford University, Associated Retinal Consultants in Michigan and Jules Stein Eye Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles. In this ongoing study, patients are being treated for various retinal conditions, including proliferative diabetic retinopathy, proliferative diabetic retinopathy with vitreous hemorrhage, diabetic macular edema, branch retinal vein occlusion with macular edema, sickle cell retinopathy, Coat's disease, acute retinal tears and post-op tears on sclearal buckles.
"All together, we have now treated more than 1,200 patients at five different retina centers and our experience has shown that the PASCAL system performs as well as conventional single spot delivery lasers in terms of efficacy and lack of complications, but far better in terms of physician and patient acceptance," said Dr. Haller.
Anurag Gupta, MD, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center, is also participating in the multi-center study. "The PASCAL laser has revolutionized the way I laser," he commented. "Treatment delivery is much more efficient and extremely comfortable for patients with excellent therapeutic response. This innovation represents a huge leap forward in our ability to deliver quality care to more patients. I now actually look forward to pan retinal photocoagulation treatments."
About OptiMedica
OptiMedica Corp. develops and markets medical devices that treat ophthalmic disorders such as diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, retinal vascular occlusive disease and retinal tears and detachments. OptiMedica holds the exclusive license to the PASCAL® (PAttern SCAn Laser) method of photocoagulation and its associated technologies, which are FDA approved to treat a variety of retinal conditions. OptiMedica was founded in 2004 in Santa Clara, Calif. and is funded by Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers and Alloy Ventures. For more information, please visit www.optimedica.com.
Source: OptiMedica
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