FRESNO, CA--(Marketwire - October 21, 2008) - Patients in the Valley with emphysema might soon be breathing a little easier thanks to a new airway bypass study called the Exhale Airways Stents for Emphysema (EASE) trial. The trial principal is Dr. Karl Van Gundy aided by investigators Drs. Michael Peterson, Jose Joseph, Timothy Evans and Kathryn Bilello -- all pulmonologists at UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program. The study is a multi-center, international trial that is designed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of this new and innovative procedure. There are only two other sites administering the trial in California besides UCSF Fresno -- UC Davis Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.