SAN DIEGO, Feb. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Volcano Corporation (Nasdaq: VOLC) a leading developer and manufacturer of precision guided therapy tools designed to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of coronary and peripheral vascular disease, today announced it has a new interactive educational tool to facilitate learning about IVUS-guided interventional procedures with its new Visions® PV .035 Digital IVUS Catheter. The new Aortic IVUS App for iPad, available on the Apple App Store, provides case examples with interactive education on the procedural workflow and image interpretation, and is intended for healthcare professionals involved in endovascular aortic procedures.
“I am glad Volcano saw the utility of developing an app for IVUS technique and image interpretation,” said Jacques Kpodonu, MD, Cardiovascular Surgeon and Surgical Director of the Cardiac Hybrid and Endovascular Therapies Program at Hoag Memorial Presbyterian Hospital, Newport Beach, CA. Dr. Kpodonu, who assisted in the app’s development, explained, “A multimedia-based, animated demonstration of IVUS video co-registered with the catheter’s position in the aorta is an ideal way to explain the endoaortic surgical procedural steps along with the images. This tool could be very helpful for fellows and physicians wanting to learn about a low contrast IVUS-guided surgical approach to endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) and thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR).”
Volcano chose its new Visions PV.035 Digital IVUS Catheter for the educational tool because it offers an opportunity for an interventional solution using less contrast which may be beneficial for renal insufficient patients. According to company officials, IVUS may be used in some cases instead of an initial contrast angiogram to identify anatomical landmarks during endovascular aortic repair. Furthermore, the Visions PV .035 catheter incorporates new centimeter markers that enable the user to make length measurements between landmarks without the need for other devices.
Frank Arko, MD, Director of Endovascular Surgery at the Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC said, “With the new catheter, I can more easily accomplish a case with very little contrast.”
Company executives highlighted other catheter enhancements compared to the existing Visions PV 8.2 catheter, including a longer connector length to improve procedural flexibility, new materials allowing for a softer, more rounded tip with lower entry profile and GlyDx® hydrophilic coating to aid in delivery through tortuous anatomy. The catheter is now available for all customers in the US and Europe (CE countries).
About Volcano Corporation
Volcano Corporation is revolutionizing the medical device industry with a broad suite of technologies that make imaging and therapy simpler, more informative and less invasive. Its products empower physicians around the world with a new generation of analytical tools that deliver more meaningful information - using sound and light as the guiding elements. Founded in cardiovascular care and expanding into other specialties, Volcano is changing the assumption about what is possible in improving patient outcomes by combining imaging and therapy together.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements in this release that are not historical facts may be considered “forward-looking statements” including statements regarding the potential benefits of the the iPad application, PV.035, and other products, procedures and technologies described above, the pace and extent of market adoption of the company’s PV.035 product and other technologies, and the impact of clinical and other technical data. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties which may cause Volcano’s results to differ materially and adversely from the statements contained herein. Some of the potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ include the pace and extent of market adoption of the company’s products and technologies; unexpected clinical trial results, including unexpected new clinical data and unexpected additional analysis of existing clinical data; unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; the company’s ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection; competition in general; government, industry and general public pricing pressures; unexpected manufacturing issues; growth strategies; timing and achievement of product development milestones; outcome of ongoing litigation; the impact and benefits of market development; product introductions; unexpected new data, safety and technical issues; market conditions; and other risks inherent to medical device development and commercialization. These and additional risks and uncertainties are more fully described in Volcano’s filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our recent Form 424(b)(2) prospectus supplement. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date they are made. Volcano undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date they are made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
SOURCE Volcano Corporation
