New Studies Show Improved Clinical Outcomes and Decreased Patient Pain Using Avanca’s RPD(R) Syringe With Ultrasound Versus Regular Syringe With Ultrasound

ALBUQUERQUE, NM--(Marketwire - September 08, 2010) - Medical device company Avanca Medical Devices, Inc. (www.avancamedical.com) continues to prove the superior performance of its one-handed syringe, the RPD® over regular syringes. A recent study using sonographic guidance and the RPD® one-handed syringe, “Does Sonographic Needle Guidance Affect the Clinical Outcome of Intra-articular Injections?” (J Rheumatol. 2009 Sep; 36(9):1892-902.) demonstrated more beneficial results -- much less procedural pain, improved effect of the injected drug, greater responder rate, and reduced non-responder rate -- using sonographic needle guidance with the RPD® than using sonographic needle guidance with a conventional syringe. The study showed that the one-handed RPD® (reciprocating procedure device) significantly improves the performance and outcomes of ultrasound-guided injections in a clinically significant manner. Another recent study, “A Randomized, Double-blind, Controlled Study of Ultrasound-guided Corticosteroid Injection into the Joint of Patients with Inflammatory Arthritis” (Arthritis Rheum. 2010 Jul; 62(7):1862-9), demonstrated no improvement of outcomes of ultrasound-guided intra-articular injections with a conventional syringe. The study addressed whether sonographic needle guidance affected clinical outcomes of intra-articular (IA) joint injections, and determined that there was no benefit from sonographic guidance when performed with a conventional syringe. These two studies emphasize that to take full advantage of sonographic needle guidance to improve patient outcomes, improved control of the syringe device is necessary. Using the one-handed RPD® syringe instead of a conventional syringe with ultrasound is a more effective way to treat patients and justify sonographic needle guidance to 3rd party payers.

Dr. Wilmer L. Sibbitt, Jr., a physician at UNM’s Health Sciences Center (HSC), commented: “With any new device, outcome trials to show a benefit to the patient are always necessary. Outcome trials with the RPD® have demonstrated greater patient safety, much less procedural pain, and better outcomes in syringe procedures, including biopsy and injections of medications for corticosteroids, hyaluronate, local anesthetics, cosmetic agents and neuromuscular drugs. New studies combining the RPD® with ultrasound guidance are ongoing and have great promise to improve the safety and outcomes of medical procedures in all fields of procedural medicine.”

Avanca Medical Devices, Inc. is currently conducting clinical trials on cost-effectiveness using the RPD® to demonstrate that low-cost alterations in IA technique can have a major impact on outcome.