LANGHORNE, Pa., Aug. 26, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Power Medical Interventions(r), Inc. (Nasdaq:PMII), a leader in developing and commercializing Intelligent Surgical Instruments(tm), announced that Drs. Nakajima and Nishida successfully performed what is believed to be the first transvaginal NOTES(tm) (Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery) partial gastrectomy at Osaka University Hospital in Osaka, Japan on August 13, 2008. The surgery was approved in June by the University's Ethics Committee after its protocol evaluation by the Japan NOTES committee. Power Medical's iNOLC (Intelligent Natural Orifice Linear Cutter) enabled the procedure. The iNOLC has not been cleared for clinical use by the United States Food and Drug Administration or by Japanese regulatory authorities, but was used in this procedure pursuant to a one-time compassionate use waiver under the surgeon's license and the University's relevant committee approval.
