Press Releases

BIOTRONIK, a leading manufacturer of cardio- and endovascular medical technology, announced a significant milestone today in the development of a new therapy era for patients suffering from coronary artery disease. As part of the clinical study BIOSOLVE-II, Prof. Dr. Michael Haude from the Lukaskrankenhaus, Neuss, Germany, successfully implanted the BIOTRONIK DREAMS (DRug Eluting Absorbable Metal Scaffold) in the first patient.

Medicure Inc. ("Medicure" or the "Company") (TSXV:MPH, OTC:MCUJF.PK), is pleased to announce that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the AGGRASTAT (tirofiban HCl) high-dose bolus (HDB) regimen, as requested under Medicure's supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA). The AGGRASTAT HDB regimen (25 mcg/kg over 3 minutes, followed by 0.15 mcg/kg/min) now becomes the recommended dosing for the reduction of thrombotic cardiovascular events in patients with non-ST elevated acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS).

Pie Medical Imaging BV (PMI) announced today that they have signed an agreement with the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) to begin a close collaboration. Under this agreement the CRF Clinical Trials Center will use PMI’s solutions in their Angiographic Core Laboratory for clinical research and multi-center trials. As part of the agreement, CRF will also support further development of PMI’s new state-of-the-art products for analysis and visualization of medical images. The CRF Clinical Trials Center (CTC) plans and executes clinical investigations from first-in-man studies to large, multicenter, international trials and provides expert, independent qualitative and quantitative analyses of clinical and imaging data.

Digisonics, a Best in KLAS provider of cardiovascular information systems (CVIS), has introduced functionality for Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) calculations.  Appropriate Use Criteria are evidence-based guidelines to assist referring physicians and other providers in making the appropriate imaging or treatment decision for a specific clinical condition/indication. Digisonics recognizes that reimbursement audits will be tied to appropriate use scores in the future, so there is considerable benefit for facilities that utilize the Digisonics CVIS to monitor appropriate use scores and produce the required structured reports.

AccessClosure, Inc., the market leader in extravascular closure devices, announced today an exclusive agreement with Ostial Corporation to distribute the Flash Ostial System Dual Balloon Angioplasty Catheter in the United States. The Flash Ostial System is designed to help overcome the challenges of aorto-ostial stenting and compliments the Mynx® Product Family of Vascular Closure Devices to expand AccessClosure’s portfolio.

BIOTRONIK, a leading manufacturer of cardiovascular medical technology, announced the launch of the new Idova 7 series today. Idova 7 ICDs (implantable cardioverter-defibrillators) and CRT-Ds (cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators) offer ultrahigh-energy therapy without compromising on short charge times (10 sec), smaller size (34 cc), and outstanding longevity of more than eleven years. Designed to stop life-threatening arrhythmias with the very first shock, Idova 7 gives patients valuable peace of mind.

The Cardiovascular Care Group (TCVCG), announced today it has united with The Vein Institute of New Jersey to offer patients access to an expanded team of highly skilled clinicians with outstanding results and additional locations throughout Central and Northern New  Jersey. Reinforcing its commitment to producing great outcomes for the millions of Americans who have varicose and spider veins, the merger increases the number of board–certified physicians available to patients further enabling The Vein Institute at TCVCG to meet the growing demand for its services.

The Greenwich Hospital Auxiliary has made a $500,000 donation to benefit cardiovascular services at Greenwich Hospital. The generous gift was made during the Auxiliary’s 63rd annual meeting on Sept. 30.

No other health concern affects more people in Hunterdon County than cardiovascular disease.  It is the County’s leading cause of death and its incidence is on the rise due, in part, to the growing number of area residents between the age of 45 and 64 – a time in life in which the onset of cardiovascular disease is most likely to occur.  Hunterdon Medical Center has begun construction on its new Cardiovascular Center. The expansion will centralize all acute care cardiovascular services.

Data from a study led by researchers at Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute<http://globalmessaging1.prnewswire.com/clickthrough/servlet/clickthrough?msg_id=7563978&adr_order=59&url=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zYWludGx1a2VzaGVhbHRoc3lzdGVtLm9yZy9zZXJ2aWNlcy9oZWFydC1hbmQt%0AdmFzY3VsYXItY2FyZGlvdmFzY3VsYXItc2VydmljZXM%3D> showed marked, long-term improvement in health status in patients suffering from peripheral artery disease treated with the S.M.A.R.T. Nitinol Self-Expandable Stent. The study was sponsored by Cordis Corporation, (Fremont, Calif.), manufacturer of the S.M.A.R.T. Stent.

BIOTRONIK, a leading manufacturer of cardiovascular technology, announced today that it has completed patient enrollment in the iliac arm of its BIOFLEX-I trial. Under the supervision of national primary investigator Dr. Mark W. Burket, Chief of the Cardiovascular Division at the University of Toledo Medical Center in Toledo OH, the trial will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the Astron and Pulsar-18 stents in the treatment of peripheral vascular disease with a view towards gaining FDA approval.

Cardiovascular Surgery has recently joined WellStar Medical Group (WMG). The practice will be known as WellStar Medical Group, Cardiovascular Surgery and will remain in their current office location of 61 Whitcher Street, Suite 4100, Marietta, Ga., 30060.

Methodist Mansfield Medical Center has received Cycle IV Chest Pain Center Accreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC), an international not-for-profit organization that focuses on transforming cardiovascular care&nbsp;by assisting facilities in their effort to create communities of excellence that bring together quality, cost and patient satisfaction.

UltraSPECT, a leading provider of image reconstruction technology that reduces radiopharmaceutical dose and acquisition time for nuclear medicine (NM) exams, announces today that study data has shown UltraSPECT solutions are a viable method for meeting American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) low dose guidelines. Furthermore, technologists are able to rely on their existing imaging protocols, providing added confidence in overall results. UltraSPECT will be demonstrating this solution to conference attendees at the upcoming ASNC Annual Meeting, September 26-29, in Chicago.

The Healthcare Accreditation Colloquium announced today that Mayo Clinic Children&#39;s Center became the first Accredited Pediatric Heart Failure Institute in Minnesota and fourth in the nation after successfully completing a rigorous one year effort focused on the diagnosis and treatment of childhood heart failure within the community, hospital, clinician education and science.

More than 14 million Europeans suffer from heart failure, roughly half of which is caused by diastolic heart failure, known by doctors as HFPEF. OptimEx, a new 3.5-year study funded by the European Union and coordinated by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), will look at whether exercise could be used both to prevent and treat HFPEF.&nbsp;

UC Davis Health System researchers have identified for the first time a biological pathway that is activated when blood sugar levels are abnormally high and causes irregular heartbeats, a condition known as cardiac arrhythmia that is linked with heart failure and sudden cardiac death.

Abiomed, Inc.&nbsp;(Nasdaq:ABMD), a leading provider of breakthrough heart support&nbsp;technologies, today reported its donation of an unrestricted grant in&nbsp;the amount of $375,000 to Boston Children&#39;s Hospital Heart Center, a&nbsp;newly dedicated cardiovascular care center founded within Boston&nbsp;Children&#39;s Hospital.

Two new facilities have selected the Digisonics Cardiovascular Information System.&nbsp; The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. and Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center, in Eagle Pass, Texas will implement the Digisonics CVIS for cardiovascular image review and structured reporting.&nbsp;

New research reveals the advantages of new, more accurate risk assessment methodologies over the basic lipid panel. Atherotech Diagnostics Lab, a leading clinical reference laboratory specializing in advanced cardiometabolic testing and disease management solutions, will highlight recent evidence for improved cardiovascular disease assessment and prevention at the eighth annual Cardiometabolic Health Congress (CMHC) October 2-5, at the Sheraton Hotel in Boston. &nbsp; &nbsp;

Micell Technologies, Inc. today announced that a peer reviewed article discussing imaging and clinical results of the DESSOLVE I trial of its MiStent Sirolimus Eluting Absorbable Polymer Coronary Stent System (MiStent SES&reg;) was accepted for publication on the JACC Cardiovascular Interventions website. The paper, &quot;First-in-Human Evaluation of a Bioabsorbable Polymer-Coated Sirolimus-Eluting Stent: Imaging and Clinical Results of the DESSOLVE I Trial (DES With Sirolimus and a Bioabsorbable Polymer for the Treatment of Patients With De Novo Lesion in the Native Coronary Arteries)&quot;, is planned to also appear in the October 2013 issue of JACC Cardiovascular Interventions.