Healthcare Industry News: laryngoscope
News Release - February 1, 2007
Verathon Inc., Maker of BladderScan(R), Issues $10,000 Challenge to Clinicians: Develop Protocol to Study the Relationship Between Bladder Wall Mass and OAB/BPH in Men
BOTHELL, Wash., Feb. 1 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- Verathon Inc. (formerly Diagnostic Ultrasound Corp.) announced today that it is issuing a Urology Challenge: The company is offering $10,000 for the most practical and scientifically valid protocol to study the relationship of bladder wall mass and OAB (overactive bladder) or BPH (benign prostatic hypertrophy) in men. The goal is to determine how bladder wall mass (also known as UEBW or ultrasound-estimated bladder weight,) measurements can best be utilized in clinical practice.The clinical significance of bladder wall mass in BOO (bladder outlet obstruction) and OAB has been noted, but to date it has not been well defined. Measurement of bladder wall mass (UEBW) has the potential to provide physicians with useful information for determining patient care plans.
Verathon(TM) recently developed an innovative, handheld ultrasound device, the BladderScan® BVM 6500 that measures both bladder volume and bladder wall mass (UEBW) noninvasively. The BVM 6500 was designed to assist in diagnosis of bladder hypertrophy secondary to obstruction, predicated on a correlation between UEBW and bladder outlet obstruction (BOO). The goal of the challenge is to maximize the BladderScan® BVM 6500's clinical utility and significance as a diagnostic and treatment tool.
"Because measurement of bladder hypertrophy is quite labor intensive when performed with standard ultrasound instruments, it has not really entered clinical use to date," said Gerald McMorrow, CEO, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Verathon(TM). "The BVM 6500 allows this measurement to be taken in minutes without complex mathematical computations, without poorly fitted approximations, and without invasive instillations of known amounts of saline. It is Verathon's goal to enable rapid and easy evaluation of bladder hypertrophy. We believe that this may become central to evaluation of bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) and overactive bladder (OAB) conditions, as well as evaluation of therapy."
The company's challenge is open to anyone, but may be of particular interest to Urologists, healthcare professionals, and clinical investigators. International entries are permitted. The winning abstract will present a protocol and explain how that protocol would a) definitively refine the diagnostic impact of UEBW; and b) effectively demonstrate the clinical significance of the correlation described above, and how it would be implemented in a clinical trial.
Abstracts must be submitted to Verathon Inc. no later than March 31, 2007, for consideration. The winning abstract be announced at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) in May 2007, in Anaheim, California.
For more information please contact Verathon(TM) at bladderwallmass@verathon.com. Entries may be submitted via Email to bladderwallmass@verathon.com, by Mail to: Verathon inc. - Attn: Bladder Wall Mass Challenge, 21222 30th Drive SE, Suite 120, Bothell, Washington 98021; or via FAX at 1.425.883.2896.
About Verathon Inc.
Verathon(TM), formerly Diagnostic Ultrasound Corp., designs and manufactures reliable, state-of-the-art medical devices and services that offer a meaningful improvement in patient care to the health care community. The company's noninvasive BladderScan® instrument is the standard of care for bladder volume measurement. The brand is found in over 60 countries in Urology and Primary Care practices, as well as Acute and Extended Care facilities. With the January 2006 acquisition of Saturn Biomedical Systems in Vancouver, Canada, Verathon(TM) entered Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Emergency markets with the GlideScope® video laryngoscope (GVL®) brand. Verathon(TM) is headquartered in Bothell, Washington and has approximately 270 employees worldwide. For more information, please visit www.verathon.com.
NOTE: BladderScan®, GlideScope®, GVL®, Verathon(TM), and Verathon Medical(TM) are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Verathon Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All rights reserved.
Source: Verathon
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