FORT LEE, N.J., March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- InterCure, Ltd., today announced the California Technology Assessment Forum (CTAF), a program of the Blue Shield of California Foundation, unanimously agreed at its recent meeting that device-guided breathing with RESPeRATE is a safe and effective medical approach to treat hypertension. RESPeRATE, the first and only medical device clinically proven to lower blood pressure through guided breathing therapy, met all five of CTAF’s assessment criteria for new medical technologies. The decision was based on a review of seven clinical studies published in peer- reviewed medical journals.
The CTAF voted unanimously that daily use of RESPeRATE as an adjunctive treatment for patients with persistently high blood pressure meets CTAF Technology Assessment Criteria for safety, effectiveness and improvement in health outcomes.
The CTAF member panel includes clinical experts from several major disciplines including ethics, outcomes research, consumer advocacy, practicing clinicians and technology assessment experts. CTAF’s assessment criteria are similar to the assessment criteria used by other Blue Cross Blue Shield technology assessment groups throughout the country in evaluating new medical technologies for approval. CTAF’s assessment regarding RESPeRATE can be found online at: http://www.ctaf.org/content/general/detail/625.
“InterCure commends the California Technology Assessment Forum for its comprehensive review of RESPeRATE as a safe and effective treatment option for the 65 million Americans with hypertension,” said Erez Gavish, president and CEO of InterCure. “CTAF’s independent evaluation and recommendation of this technology as an adjunctive treatment option for hypertension provides further validation of RESPeRATE’s innovative technology as a valuable tool in the treatment of one of the most common and deadly health conditions. RESPeRATE is now used in more than 60,000 homes worldwide, and we are pleased to see it increasingly acknowledged as a standard treatment option for hypertension.”
About the California Technology Assessment Forum
The California Technology Assessment Forum (CTAF) is a program of the Blue Shield of California Foundation. The California Technology Assessment Forum is a community forum dedicated to objectivity and transparency regarding medical technologies; a community forum for dialog and decisions regarding the safety and effectiveness of new and emerging technologies; and a public benefit for California. The California Technology Assessment Forum reviews approximately 15 new and emerging medical technologies each year. www.ctaf.org.
About Blue Shield of California Foundation
Blue Shield of California Foundation is one of the largest healthcare grant-making organizations in California. The Foundation’s goals are expanding access to health coverage, advancing the use of technology to improve access to quality health care, and ending domestic violence. The Foundation was formed by Blue Shield of California, a not-for-profit corporation with more than 3.2 million members, 4,300 employees and 20 offices throughout California. For more information, please visit www.blueshieldcafoundation.org.
About RESPeRATE
RESPeRATE(R) is FDA-cleared for over-the-counter sale and is the only medical device on the market clinically proven to lower blood pressure through paced breathing therapy. The device uses the body’s natural tendency to follow external rhythms, interactively guiding the user to effortlessly reduce their breathing rate to a “therapeutic zone” of less than 10 breaths per minute. The breathing exercises with RESPeRATE relax the constricted muscles surrounding the small blood vessels, allowing the blood to flow more freely and yielding a significant and lasting reduction of blood pressure within weeks.
About InterCure, Ltd.
InterCure, a medical device company, has become a leader in the growing Personal Therapeutic Device category. Its broadly patented “device-guided breathing” technology platform enables a systematic reduction in sympathetic outflow of the autonomous nervous system. InterCure is successfully selling the world’s first hypertension treatment device, RESPeRATE(R). http://www.resperate.com/discover/in_the_news.aspx -- mayoWith multiple published clinical trials, regulatory approvals in most key markets (FDA over- the-counter (“OTC”) clearance, CE mark, Chinese SDA and others) and a renowned scientific advisory board, RESPeRATE is rapidly becoming a part of the standard of care for the http://www.resperate.com/discover/interactive_demo_video.aspxtreatment of hypertension. (www.intercure.com, www.resperate.com)
InterCure, Ltd.
CONTACT: Jane Hauser of Schwartz Communications, +1-781-684-0770, orintercure@schwartz-pr.com, for InterCure, Inc.; or Brian Packard ofInterCure, Inc., +1-201-720-7750, or bpackard@intercure.com
