MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- superDimension, Inc.(R), a private company that develops minimally invasive interventional pulmonology devices, announced today that The American Medical Association (AMA) has issued a new Category I CPT(R) code for the use of the Company’s electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy (ENB) device to navigate to lesions or spots deep in the lungs. The code will become effective January 1, 2010. The AMA also issued a new CPT I(R) code for the placement of fiducial radiosurgical markers via the ENB procedure.
Previously, the “gold standard” to diagnose lung cancer consisted of two invasive surgeries: wedge thoracotomy (open chest partial lung removal) to biopsy the lung and mediastinoscopy (invasive lymph node surgery) to biopsy the lymph nodes. Patients with poor lung function who could not tolerate these more invasive procedures were left with “watchful waiting” as their only option.
Dan Sullivan, president and chief executive officer, said, “Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial for improving survival rates in lung cancer. The prior standard of care left patients with the option of either undergoing invasive procedures or watchful waiting for an increase in lesion (spot) size. We believe ENB will revolutionize the way physicians and patients think about the diagnosis of lung cancer. With the introduction of ENB, patients finally gained a minimally invasive alternative for this early diagnosis.”
ENB has received FDA 510(k) clearance in the United States, CE Mark in Europe and it has also been approved for use in Australia and Canada. ENB has been performed on more than 9,000 patients in over 200 hospitals worldwide.
About Lung Cancer
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, causing more deaths than the next three deadliest cancers combined -- breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer. Each year, approximately 200,000 patients are newly diagnosed with lung cancer in the United States and an additional 160,000 patients die from the disease.” The company notes, this is in addition to the millions of patients who are currently on watchful waiting with an undiagnosed spot on their lung.
About superDimension
superDimension, Inc. is a Minneapolis-based, privately held company that develops and markets catheter based devices for use in the minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of early stage lung cancer and other diseases, using the patient’s natural airways to avoid surgery. For more information, please visit www.superdimension.com.
CONTACT: Dan Sullivan, President and CEO, +1-763-210-4011, or Rick
Buchholz, Chief Financial Officer, +1-763-210-4012, both of superDimension,
Inc. or media, Scott Lerman, +1-646-536-7013, slerman@theruthgroup.com, or
investors, Nick Laudico, +1-646-536-7030, nlaudico@theruthgroup.com
Web site: http://www.superdimension.com/
