
05 20 08 | ST.
LOUIS
Stereotaxis
Market Leadership Reinforced in Core Curriculum and Symposium
Presentations at Heart Rhythm 2008
Stereotaxis, Inc. (NSDQ: STXS) today reported on
the favorable endorsements of its Niobe® Magnetic Navigation
System and Odyssey™ information management tools received from
key opinion leaders in electrophysiology at Heart Rhythm 2008, the
Heart Rhythm Society's 29th Annual Scientific Sessions, which concluded
on Saturday, May 17.
In his core curriculum presentation, Dr. Xu Chen
of the Rigshospitalet-Copenhagen University Hospital, reported 100% acute success and 92% chronic success, with zero complications, in
pediatric supraventricular tachycardia cases performed with the Niobe
System. In addition, the remote magnetic navigation system lowered
his patients' mean x-ray exposure to only five minutes, which is
even more important in the pediatric population to minimize the potential
long-term effects of radiation on children. Dr. Chen remarked on
the Niobe System's safety, pointing out how the flexible, magnetically-guided
catheter significantly reduces the risk of perforation.
Prof. Tamas Szili-Torok of Erasmus Medical Center
in Rotterdam reported in a core curriculum presentation that remote
magnetic navigation is now the standard of care for pediatric cases
at Erasmus, due to its greater safety and ability to navigate complex
anatomy. He presented 100% acute success and 81% chronic success
in pediatric supraventricular tachycardia cases with the Niobe System
at one-year follow-up, and 92% and 75% acute and chronic success,
respectively, in the even more challenging congenital heart disease
cases, also at one-year follow-up. His patients experienced zero
complications related to the Niobe system during these complex procedures.
In all, 90% of the 96 core curriculum sessions
presented at Heart Rhythm 2008, including all 33 sessions related
to ablation techniques, included presentations delivered by physicians
from institutions that have already purchased or ordered a Niobe
Magnetic Navigation system.
Speakers at the accredited symposium, "The
Integrated EP Lab: The Future of Complex Arrhythmia Ablation," provided
their perspectives on the complete array of Stereotaxis
technologies, from the remote navigation of magnetic catheters to
integrated information management and networking:
• Dr. Andrea Natale, of the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute,
endorsed magnetic navigation as an important tool for VT mapping
of the endocardium and epicardium.
• Prof. Karl-Heinz Kuck of St. Georg Hospital in Hamburg, presented
data demonstrating the superior tissue contact that is achievable
with magnetic catheters, optimizing safety and lesion formation at
low contact forces. He noted that "it is almost impossible to
perforate with a magnetic catheter."
• While Prof. Carlo Pappone of San Raffaele University Hospital
in Milan, Italy, using a Lasso™ catheter, confirmed 100% acute
success in PV isolation with the magnetic irrigated catheter, the
bulk of his remarks focused on the advanced simplification, accelerated
learning curve, and improved communication that is now achievable
with the Odyssey System and Network.
• Dr. Gery Tomassoni of Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington,
Kentucky underscored this point, suggesting that Odyssey will be
the ultimate tool for the complete integration of existing and emerging
technologies in the EP Lab.
"Stereotaxis is committed to improving EP lab efficiency at every point along the continuum of clinical practice,
from enhancing the precision, efficacy, and safety of remote navigation
and consolidating information and systems management in the EP lab,
to extending best practices across a growing network of interconnected
users," said Bevil Hogg, CEO of Stereotaxis. Mr. Hogg continued, "We were delighted with
the broad spectrum of clinical endorsements of our technology in
the core curriculum, which represented the principal scientific content
of the conference, and we were very encouraged by the enthusiastic
reception our Niobe and Odyssey systems received on the conference
floor. We believe the conference further underlined the effectiveness
of our technology in all four chambers of the heart. With our reputation
for safety, simplicity, and efficacy reinforced by this extremely
successful event, we look forward to our goal of achieving 150 installations
and a total of 25,000-30,000 procedures since inception, completed
by Heart Rhythm 2009."
About Stereotaxis
Stereotaxis designs, manufactures, and markets
an advanced cardiology instrument control system for use in a hospital's
interventional surgical suite to enhance the treatment of coronary
artery disease and arrhythmias. The Stereotaxis system is designed
to enable physicians to complete more complex interventional procedures
by providing image-guided delivery of catheters and guidewires through
the blood vessels and chambers of the heart to treatment sites. This
is achieved using computer-controlled, externally applied magnetic
fields that govern the motion of the working tip of the catheter
or guidewire, resulting in improved navigation, shorter procedure
time, and reduced x-ray exposure. The core components of the Stereotaxis
system have received regulatory clearance in the U.S., Europe, and
Canada.
To learn more about Stereotaxis, please visitwww.stereotaxis.com.
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