




Healthcare Industry News: allograft
News Release - December 14, 2006
ATS Medical Announces Key Milestone in PARSUS Development Project
MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 14 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- ATS Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATSI ) today announced that Erysave, AB, of Lund, Sweden, its partner in the development of Particle Separation by Ultrasound Technology (PARSUS) for cardiac surgery applications, has successfully met the criteria established for a key milestone in the PARSUS Development Project. PARSUS is a novel technology that separates particles from fluid through the application of ultrasonic standing waves. The specifications of the milestone were developed to ensure that the technologies' performance capabilities meet the high flow and separation demands of the cardiac operating room.The ATS Medical/ Erysave partnership has focused on developing PARSUS Technology for use in filtering lipid emboli from the salvaged blood that routinely accumulates during cardiac surgical procedures and is recovered from the body with suction devices. Clinical evidence has been published demonstrating that the return of this salvaged blood to the body using currently available technologies can be a contributor to negative neurologic outcomes.
PARSUS Technology has proven to be effective in gently removing lipid emboli from salvaged blood by directing an ultrasonic wave through moving blood, while recovering beneficial components. The lighter lipids are directed into a waste reservoir and the majority of red blood cells are separated and retained using low energy forces that do not adversely stress these beneficial components. The separation process runs continuously and silently without the need for handling. It starts immediately when blood is available and stops when no blood is present. Blood loss attributable to priming volume is substantially reduced, performance is not volume dependent and minimal waste is created. Improved filtering and reduced blood loss also contribute to improved patient care by reducing the need for donor banked blood and its additional risks, costs and management issues.
David A. Stump, PhD, of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina is a Professor of Anesthesiology and Cardio-Thoracic Surgery with a research emphasis in cardio-pulmonary bypass technology. Dr. Stump offered, "Lipids and other deformable emboli undergo size and shape changes that can escape current filtering technology. We are very excited about the great promise PARSUS Technology holds for addressing the limitations of these commonly used methods in ways that may help us further reduce post-operative neurologic compromise."
Michael Dale, ATS Medical's President and CEO noted, "Improved blood filtering can have a lasting impact on surgical outcomes and advancing the standard of care for patients and physicians. We are very pleased with the progress being made in bringing PARSUS Technology closer to clinical application, and we expect to provide more detailed guidance on future milestones and targeted commercialization dates by the end of March 2007."
About ATS Medical
ATS Medical, Inc. provides innovative products and services focused on cardiac surgery. The company, global in scope, has been headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota since its founding in 1991. More than 130,000 ATS Open Pivot® Heart Valves, which utilize a unique pivot design resulting in exceptional performance and low risk profile, have been implanted in patients worldwide. The ATS 3F® brand encompasses multiple tissue heart valve product offerings at varying steps from market introductions to clinical trials to development projects that incorporate less invasive valve replacement technology. ATS Medical's focus on cardiac surgery is further strengthened by offerings that include ATS Simulus(TM) annuloplasty products for heart valve repair, SurgiFrost® and FrostByte(TM) products for surgical cryoablation of cardiac arrhythmias, RTI-Cardiovascular for allograft tissue services, and the development of PARSUS blood filtration technology. The ATS Medical web site is http://www.atsmedical.com .
Safe Harbor
This Press Release contains forward-looking statements that may include statements regarding intent, belief or current expectations of the Company and its management. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements as a result of a number of important factors, including the results of clinical trials, the integration of 3F Therapeutics, regulatory actions, competition, pricing pressures, supplier actions and management of growth. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that could affect the Company's activities and results, please refer to the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, as amended, and its Form S-4 Registration Statement, as amended, filed with respect to the merger with 3F Therapeutics.
Source: ATS Medical
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