http://www.ptca.org/ Breaking news about stents, angioplasty, the medical device industry, balloons, diagnostic imaging, interventional cardiology, stent thrombosis, restenosis from Angioplasty.Org en-us copyright 2006-10 Venture Digital LLC Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:30:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/images/nav/angio_logo1.gif http://www.ptca.org/ http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0315_ACC_STENTS.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0315_ACC_STENTS.html All four U.S. stent manufacturers were represented in various studies presented at today's 59th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology in Atlanta, GA, an event attended by an estimated 16,000 cardiology professionals. The studies revealed data about old vs. new devices, and the results ranged from unsurprising to controversial to unparalleled. Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:50:00 EDT http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0315_MEDTRONIC.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0315_MEDTRONIC.html Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), responded today to the questionable findings of SORT-OUT III, a Danish study comparing the Endeavor and Cypher drug-eluting stents. The company's criticisms cover the study's unconventional design and analytical methods, which are biased against Medtronic's Endeavor stent in favor of Johnson & Johnson's Cypher stent. Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:00:00 EDT http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0315_TAXUS.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0315_TAXUS.html Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) today announced 12-month results from its PERSEUS clinical program that demonstrated positive safety and efficacy outcomes in workhorse lesions for the platinum chromium TAXUS(r) Element(tm) Paclitaxel-Eluting Stent System compared to the TAXUS(r) Express2(tm) Paclitaxel-Eluting Stent System. Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:10:00 EDT http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0315_ABSORB.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0315_ABSORB.html Abbott today announced positive 30-day results from the first 101 patients enrolled in the second phase of the ABSORB trial. Patients treated with Abbott's bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS), under clinical investigation in Europe, demonstrated no cases of blood clots (thrombosis), no need for repeat procedures (ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization) and a very low rate of major adverse cardiac events (MACE rate of 2.0 percent) at 30 days. Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:50:00 EDT http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0314_ENDEAVOR.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0314_ENDEAVOR.html The presentation at today's American College of Cardiology meeting of the 5-Year clinical results from ENDEAVOR III, along with the results of Medtronic's (NYSE: MDT) pooled Endeavor Trials Program, offers what may be a new paradigm for judging clinical trial results. Especially when taken together with recent findings from such studies as FAME and ODESSA, angiographic late lumen loss, one of the standards by which the performance of drug-eluting stents initially has been judged, may not be as significant a factor as once thought. Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:40:00 EDT http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0314_MEDTRONIC.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0314_MEDTRONIC.html The consistency and quality of the long-term clinical results for the Endeavor(R) drug-eluting stent (DES) from Medtronic, Inc. continue to distinguish it as a treatment for coronary artery disease, according to newly released data. Five-year findings from the comprehensive ENDEAVOR program were released today at ACC.10, the American College of Cardiology's 59th Scientific Session. Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:30:00 EDT http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0313_MEDTRONIC.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0313_MEDTRONIC.html Moving to expand the evidence base for the future of structural heart disease therapy, Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), today announced the start of the first of several new initiatives in a robust international clinical program for its CoreValve transcatheter aortic valve system, a minimally-invasive alternative to open-heart surgery for aortic valve replacement. Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:50:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0313_RADIAL.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0313_RADIAL.html Terumo Interventional Systems is sponsoring two days of hands-on training in the transradial approach to angiography and angioplasty for attendees of this year's American College of Cardiology 59th Scientific Sessions in Atlanta, Georgia. Building on its industry-leading transradial education focus, these sessions will be held in Lab #3636 on Sunday, March 14 and Monday, March 15 from 9:00am - 4:30pm. Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:00:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0313_CRF.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0313_CRF.html The announcement of a new clinical trial, EXCEL (Evaluation of Xience Prime versus Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery for Effectiveness of Left Main Revascularization), that will compare drug-eluting stents to coronary artery bypass graft surgery in patients with left main coronary artery disease, was made today at "Optimizing PCI Outcomes: Evolving Paradigms," a symposium presented by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation. Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:30:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0312_PLAVIX.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0312_PLAVIX.html What some clinicians have known about for some time is now official: the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today added a boxed warning to the drug Plavix (clopidogrel) stating that, in some patients with a genetic variation of the cytochrome CYP2C19, Plavix may not be metabolized properly and therefore may not be effective for the indicated therapy. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:45:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0312_VOLCANO.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0312_VOLCANO.html The value of Fractional Flow Reserve in guiding PCI (percutaneous coronary interventions) has been shown in the FAME studies, as well as others. Yet the number of labs using FFR shows that it is an underused modality. Integrating FFR into standing hemodynamic monitoring systems simplifies the use of this valuable tool. Today Volcano announced that it is offering FFR technology integrated with the existing systems manufactured by GE, Siemens, McKesson, and Mennen. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:50:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0311_VOLCANO.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0311_VOLCANO.html The company announced its activities today at Annual Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Conference taking place in Atlanta from March 14th to March 16th. Presentations and new product launches will continue Volcano's mission to demonstrate the limitations of angiography and the value of IVUS, FFR and OCT. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:45:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/stentcenter/feres_interview.html http://www.ptca.org/stentcenter/feres_interview.html In this exclusive interview, Dr. Feres explains the novel nature of this 3,000 patient trial which is measuring patient outcomes after only three months of dual antiplatelet therapy when used with Medtronic's Endeavor ZES. OPTIMIZE is unique because, due to concerns over late stent thrombosis, other trials are testing periods of one to three years -- Dr. Feres' hypothesis is that the Endeavor zotarolimus-eluting stent heals more quickly and therefore patients do not need to be taking aspirin plus Plavix for more than three months. If borne out, these finding could have important implications for cost-savings as well as patient safety. Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:15:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0224_VOLCANO.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0224_VOLCANO.html The company will hold a conference call to discuss its financial results and operating activities open to all interested parties at 2 p.m., Pacific Standard Time, (5 p.m., Eastern Standard Time), Wednesday, March 3, hosted by Scott Huennekens, president and chief executive officer, and John Dahldorf, chief financial officer. Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0217_CARDIUM.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0217_CARDIUM.html Cardium Therapeutics (NYSE Amex: CXM) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with bioRASI, an international contract research organization, to assist Cardium in the evaluation of Generx clinical development opportunities within major newly-industrializing markets in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America, for patients with chronic coronary artery disease who are either not optimal candidates for or do not have access to costly angioplasty/stenting or cardiac bypass surgery procedures. Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:50:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/stentcenter/topol_interview.html http://www.ptca.org/stentcenter/topol_interview.html Commenting on the very large DAPT trial, Dr. Topol says, "The notion that we should treat all patients for X duration is totally crazy. It completely goes against all the evidence that every patient is an individual with a separate biologic story.... I'm amazed that it's going forward." In this interview, Dr. Topol discusses the work his Institute at Scripps is doing in genomic studies of platelet responsiveness and its implications in determining the optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy. Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:50:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0211_CLINTON.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0211_CLINTON.html Former President Bill Clinton "is in good spirits" and recovering from a successful angioplasty procedure in which two stents were placed, according to Clinton spokesman Douglas Band. Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:15:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0210_ISR.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0210_ISR.html From Arezzo, Italy come long-term large registry data demonstrating the successful use of sirolimus-eluting stents for the treatment of re-occluded bare metal stents. In the current issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Dr. Francesco Liistro and his colleagues at the Ospedale San Donato report that after four years, the clinical benefit seen at nine months has held steady with a need to reopen the artery only 11% of the time. Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:50:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0205_VOLCANO.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0205_VOLCANO.html Volcano Corporation (Nasdaq: VOLC) today announced that the jury in the litigation filed by Lightlab Imaging, Inc. on January 7, 2009 in the Superior Court of Massachusetts, Suffolk County reached a verdict against Volcano and its wholly owned subsidiary, Axsun Technologies. Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:35:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0126_CARDIUM.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0126_CARDIUM.html Cardium Therapeutics (NYSE Amex: CXM) has provided an update on plans for the continuing commercial development of Generx(TM) a DNA-based angiogenic therapy product candidate for patients with coronary artery disease. Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:15:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0126_MEDTRONIC.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0126_MEDTRONIC.html With the FDA's approval of its Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve, the first percutaneous valve to be approved in the U.S., and its acquisition of European-based Invatec, Medtronic is positioning itself to expand its interventional cardiology portfolio well beyond the coronary arteries. Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:25:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0125_EARTHQUAKE.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0125_EARTHQUAKE.html In the two weeks since a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, the major U.S.-based stent manufacturers have responded by pledging over three million dollars of aid for both immediate and long-term relief efforts. Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:30:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0115_MEDTRONIC.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0115_MEDTRONIC.html Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) announced today that it has pledged $150,000 through the Medtronic Foundation to support earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. The Foundation will match employee donations up to $50,000, with matching funds directed to Partners in Health. An additional $100,000 grant will be directed to the rebuilding of community health clinics in Haiti. Employees worldwide also are offered five days of paid leave to assist in recovery efforts. Sat, 16 Jan 2010 18:45:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0111_VOLCANO.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0111_VOLCANO.html Volcano Corporation (Nasdaq: VOLC) said today that it expects total revenues for fiscal 2009 will be approximately $228.0 million, with revenues in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 expected to be approximately $71.0 million, reflecting year-over-year revenue growth of approximately 33 percent. Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:30:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0105_02_VOLCANO.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0105_02_VOLCANO.html Volcano Corporation (Nasdaq: VOLC) said today that it will be participating in the 28th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, January 12. The presentation by Scott Huennekens, president and chief executive officer, will begin at 2 p.m., Pacific Standard Time, (5 p.m., Eastern Standard Time). Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:00:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0105_01_VOLCANO.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2010/0105_01_VOLCANO.html Volcano Corporation (Nasdaq: VOLC) announced today receipt of CE mark for their OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) imaging system and catheter. Volcano's OCT product line is expected to complement its existing line of IVUS imaging catheters and pressure guide wires used for coronary imaging and lesion assessment. Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:40:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1215_VOLCANO.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1215_VOLCANO.html Volcano Corporation (Nasdaq: VOLC), a leading developer of precision intravascular therapy guidance tools - including Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR), Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS), Forward Looking IVUS and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) - designed to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of coronary and peripheral vascular disease, announced today the placement of over 2,500 s5 family consoles worldwide. The s5 family of consoles was first launched in April 2006, with more than 1,000 systems placed in the last 12 months alone. Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:20:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1208_MEDTRONIC.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1208_MEDTRONIC.html Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), today announced the hire of Prof. Martin Rothman as vice president of medical affairs for the company's coronary and peripheral vascular business. Prof. Rothman will join Medtronic after 37 years of clinical practice in the U.K. as an interventional cardiologist. He is world renowned for his contributions to clinical research, training and education, and medical technology innovation in cardiovascular medicine. Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1205_RADIAL_TCT.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1205_RADIAL_TCT.html This fall's Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) meeting in San Francisco offered a unique and important session, "The Transradial Angiography and Intervention Seminar", comprising an entire afternoon with over twenty separate presentations by global leaders in the field of stents and angioplasty, as performed from the wrist. The complete session is now available online at the TCT's website, TCTMD.com Sat, 05 Dec 2009 22:00:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1204_VOLCANO.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1204_VOLCANO.html Axsun Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volcano Corporation (Nasdaq: VOLC), today announced the initial development and successful testing of its novel integrated High Definition Swept Source -- or HDSS(tm) -- which is based on a non-laser source of photons. The HDSS is expected to enable high resolution at unprecedented speeds in medical imaging systems. Axsun believes this proprietary optical engine design raises the bar on imaging speed and overcomes fundamental limitations of laser-based designs for swept source OCT light sources. Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:10:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1202_MEDTRONIC.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1202_MEDTRONIC.html Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT), today announced the appointment of Michael J. Coyle as executive vice president and group president of its Cardiology businesses. Coyle will lead all aspects of the group, which includes the company's Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management (CRDM), CardioVascular and Physio-Control businesses. He will be a member of the Executive Committee and report to Chairman and CEO Bill Hawkins. Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1124_MEDTRONIC.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1124_MEDTRONIC.html "Our solid financial performance this quarter was driven by consistent execution across our diversified portfolio of businesses," said Bill Hawkins, Medtronic chairman and chief executive officer. "We are well-positioned to deliver on our commitments for the balance of our fiscal year and to launch innovative new products to drive further growth in the coming years." Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:40:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1125_MEDTRONIC.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1125_MEDTRONIC.html Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), the world's leading medical technology company, today announced it will participate in the 21st Annual Piper Jaffray Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009, in New York. Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:10:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1124_VOLCANO.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1124_VOLCANO.html Volcano Corporation (Nasdaq: VOLC), a leader in the development, manufacture and sales of products for the diagnosis and treatment of coronary and peripheral artery disease, said today that it will be participating in the 21st Annual Piper Jaffray Health Care Conference on Tuesday, December 1. Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:25:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1125_FFR.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1125_FFR.html The use of Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) to determine whether or not to treat a coronary blockage with angioplasty or stents has received a boost from the newly released "Focused Updates to the ACC/AHA/SCAI Guidelines on Percutanous Coronary Intervention." Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:10:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1109_VOLCANO.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1109_VOLCANO.html Volcano Corporation (Nasdaq: VOLC), a leader in the development, manufacture and sales of products for the diagnosis and treatment of coronary and peripheral artery disease, said today that it will be participating in the Third Annual Canaccord Cardiovascular Conference on Tuesday, November 10. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:55:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1107_BAIM.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1107_BAIM.html Interventional cardiologist, Donald S. Baim, died yesterday following surgery, performed to treat a rare form of cancer that attacks the adrenal glands. He was 60. Baim was one of the pioneers of interventional cardiology, having worked with John Simpson at Stanford in the early days of balloon angioplasty. Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:25:00 EST http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1105_VOLCANO.html http://www.ptca.org/news/2009/1105_VOLCANO.html Volcano Corporation (Nasdaq: VOLC) today reported revenues of $53.9 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2009. The results for the quarter ended September 30, 2009, represent an increase of 22 percent over revenues of $44.1 million in the third quarter of 2008. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST