Healthcare Industry News: Cardima
News Release - September 2, 2008
Cardima Completes First Successful Cases in Thailand and Commences Training Program With Dr. Li Poa
FREMONT, CA--(Healthcare Sales & Marketing Network)--Sep 2, 2008 -- Cardima, Inc. (OTC BB:CADM.OB ), a medical device company focused on the treatment of Atrial Fibrillation ("AF") and manufacturer of the Cardima Surgical Ablation System and the REVELATION® line of therapeutic electrophysiology catheters, has commenced training physicians in Thailand on the use of the Cardima Surgical Ablation System.The training on August 22-25, 2008 was performed under the direction of Dr. Li Poa. He worked closely with Dr. Suchart Chaiyaroj, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, and his associate Dr. Khanat Kruthkul, at Ramathibodi Hospital. A total of four patients to date have been successfully ablated using the Cardima Surgical Ablation System.
"The training session here in Thailand went extremely well. The Thai surgeons at Ramathibodi Hospital were extremely supportive of this effort and very impressed with the performance of the Cardima product and its ability to create deep lesions," stated Dr. Poa. "Surgeons from leading Thai medical institutions attended and we are now on our way to establishing a core team of highly proficient surgeons capable of treating atrial fibrillation using the Cardima products."
Dr. Suchart Chaiyaroj commented on behalf of Ramathibodi Hospital and the Thai physicians participating in the program, "This training program and the development of an AF Center of Excellence in Thai medical facilities is a tremendous development for both our domestic health system and our medical tourism program. We very much appreciate the support of Dr. Li Poa, MEDS Global Healthcare, and Cardima in establishing this program. Dr. Khanat Kruthkul, the other physicians who attended and I were very impressed with the Cardima Surgical Ablation System. We look forward to improving the health of many patients once this surgical ablation program is fully launched and we start treating AF patients effectively here in Thailand in large numbers. With the Cardima Surgical System we can now work effectively together with our EP colleagues and offer treatment for stand alone AF."
Several institutions and individuals have provided significant levels of support to this new program to develop Thailand as a Center of Excellence for the treatment of Atrial Fibrillation; in particular, the cardiology faculty at Ramathibodi Hospital, which is associated with Mahidol University, Dr. Li Poa, Dr. Suchart Chaiyaroj, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Ramathibodi Hospital, Dr. Khanat Kruthkul, the Thai Ministry of Health, MEDS Global Healthcare USA, the Thai Finance Ministry, DKSH Diethelm Ltd., as well as Cardima.
"We need to give a lot of credit to Dr. Li Poa and to the Thai physicians who worked closely to get this training session under way so quickly and to all the companies and institutions that provided support. Cardima has only recently received market approval in Thailand, and to be treating patients and training leading Thai physicians this soon is extremely exciting for everyone at Cardima," said Robert Cheney, CEO of Cardima. "I was very fortunate to be present at Ramathibodi Hospital and to be able to watch Dr. Li Poa and Dr. Suchart Chaiyaroj work together to treat the first Cardima patients here in Thailand. Together with this very successful 'Medical Tourism' program and Thailand's high level of healthcare standards and well developed medical infrastructure, we believe that Cardima has positioned itself to develop a significant market for its products in Thailand in the near future."
Dr. Poa is the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Cardiac Surgery Program Director at Stamford Hospital, Connecticut, a major teaching affiliate of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons where he is a faculty member. Dr. Poa specializes in endoscopic cardiac access and the surgical treatment of AF and other minimally invasive techniques.
Dr. Suchart Chaiyaroj is the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Ramathibodi Hospital which is the teaching hospital for the Faculty of Medicine of Mahidol University, the longest established medical teaching institution in Thailand. Mahidol University and its Faculty of Medicine, where Dr. Suchart Chaiyaroj serves as an Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, have been ranked as the leading university and research institution in Thailand.
About Cardima
Cardima, Inc. has developed the PATHFINDER® Series, REVELATION® mapping, and TRACER™ diagnostic catheters, the VUEPORT® , VENAPORT® ,NAVIPORT® Series of guiding catheters, the REVELATION® Series of ablation catheters, the Surgical Ablation System with its series of ablation probes, and the INTELLITEMP® Energy Management Devices for RF (radiofrequency) energy management. These devices are CE marked and/or received United States FDA 510(k) clearance. The REVELATION Series of ablation catheters with the INTELLITEMP EP Energy Management Device was developed and marketed for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) with CE mark approval in Europe; it is not yet commercially approved in the United States.
PATHFINDER®, TRACER™, VUEPORT®, NAVIPORT®, REVELATION® and INTELLITEMP® are registered trademarks of Cardima, Inc.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the employment of Cardima's products to produce lesions that have penetrating depth, the successful development of the Thailand market for Cardima's products and the improvement of health of patients utilizing Cardima's produts. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the uncertainties associated with the prospects for FDA approval of any new devices; the prospect for any future clinical trials or regulatory activities; the risk that the Company will not be able to raise additional capital in the immediate term as needed to continue operations and the risk that we will be unable to secure FDA approval for the EP ablation applications in the USA and CE mark for the Surgical Ablation probe series with Sheath. Additional risks and uncertainties are set forth in the Company's Annual Reports on Form 10-KSB and Form 10-KSB/A for the year ended December 31, 2007, the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in the Company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes in the Company's plans or expectations.
Source: Cardima
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