A Medical Device Daily

An analysis of data from the Western Denmark Heart Registry has found that patients who received a Cypher sirolimus-eluting coronary stent to open a clogged artery were less likely to need another procedure at that same lesion site — called target lesion revascularization, or TLR — than were patients who received a Taxus stent.

The analysis was published in the June 1 issue of the journal Heart.

The authors of the analysis sought to identify risk factors for symptom-driven TLR when patients were treated with the Cypher from Cordis (Miami Lakes, Florida) or Boston Scientific ’s (Natick, Massachusetts) Taxus stent in a real-world scenario.

From Jan. 1, 2003, to May 18, 2005, 4,432 patients in Western Denmark were treated with a drug-eluting stent, with 2,728 receiving Cypher stents and 1,704 getting Taxus stents.

Researchers said use of a Taxus stent, implantation of multiple stents per lesion and stent implantation in small vessels were found to be independent predictors of the need for TLR at nine months after the procedure.

“The major new finding of this study was that the use of the Taxus stent was an independent predictor of TLR for a real-world population of patients treated with the Cypher stent and the Taxus stent,” said Michael Maeng, MD, principal investigator from Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark.

The Cypher yielded a 20% relative reduction of TLR in large vessels (2.4% vs. 3% in arteries with a reference diameter equal to or greater than 2.8 mm) and a 40% relative reduction of TLR in small vessels (2.9% vs. 4.8% in vessels less than 2.8 mm in diameter) compared to the Taxus.

“These registry findings provide additional assurance to the interventional cardiology community regarding the efficacy of the Cypher stent to prevent the need for repeat revascularizations in a real-world clinical setting,” said David Kandzari, MD, chief medical officer of the Cordis Cardiology Division.

The Cypher stent is available in more than 80 countries. The next version of Cordis’ sirolimus-eluting stent, the Cypher Select, was launched in Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Canada in 2003. The Cypher Select Plus, the third version of the company’s sirolimus-eluting coronary stent, received the CE mark last year and is currently available in many markets outside the U.S.

Cordis is a unit of Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, New Jersey).

Dutch train system orders Powerheart AEDs

Cardiac Science (Bothell, Washington), a provider of advanced cardiac monitoring and external defibrillation products, said that Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), the national train operator in the Netherlands, has placed an order for 220 Powerheart G3 Automatic automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

NS operates the Dutch rail system, which transports more than 1 million passengers a day.

“The safety of our passengers and staff is a top priority,” said Senol Demirel, occupational health advisor for NS. “After a fair review of companies, we chose Powerheart because the device offers rescuers ease of use, advanced technology and reliability through extensive self testing, as well as its compatibility with European Resuscitation Council Guidelines for Resuscitation. Plus it has excellent Dutch language voice prompts.”

He added, “By installing AEDs throughout the Netherlands rail system, everyone who passes through the stations can be assured that they are in a heart-safe environment.”

“AEDs should be easily accessible in any place that is used heavily by the public, and a train station is no exception,” said Garry Norris, Cardiac Science vice president, marketing, at Cardiac Science. “More than 350 Powerheart AEDs are deployed in railway stations in England, and a significant number of Powerheart AEDs are deployed in several high-traffic, mass-transit environments in the U.S.

AIM listing sought for Medicsight

MGT Capital Investments (London), an investment company focused on the healthcare information technology sector, said it intends to seek admission of shares of its Medicsight plc (also London) subsidiary to trade on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange. The terms of the offering have not yet been finalized.

Tim Paterson-Brown, CEO of MGT Capital Investments and chairman of Medicsight, said, “The listing of Medicsight shares will add significant value to MGT shareholders and provide Medicsight with working capital to expand sales and execute on its growth strategy.”

In conjunction with the announcement of its intent to list on the AIM market, Medicsight launched an updated corporate web site, www.medicsight.com.

MGT Capital Investments’ two direct subsidiaries focus on the healthcare IT sector. Medicsight is a developer of computer-aided detection and computer-assisted reader software solutions that are tested using one of the world’s largest databases of verified computed tomography scan data. Its products help clinicians identify, measure and analyze suspicious pathology, such as colorectal polyps and lung lesions.

A second subsidiary, Medicexchange , operates Medicexchange.com, an online multi-vendor sales channel for diagnostic, treatment and surgery planning solutions for cardiac, thoracic, breast imaging, orthopedic and gastrointestinal imaging.

New UK distributor for Viking Systems

Viking Systems (San Diego), a developer of high-performance laparoscopic vision systems for use in minimally invasive surgical (MIS) procedures, has expanded its international distribution network by partnering with Elemental Healthcare (Hungerford, UK), a distributorship with relationships throughout the UK.

The agreement will enable Elemental Healthcare to market and sell Viking’s 3Di Vision System technology exclusively throughout the region.

“[The] 3Di Vision System represents exactly the type of technology surgeons in the UK have come to expect from Elemental,” said Adam Power, Elemental’s managing director. “3-D Vision for minimally invasive surgeons is the type of advancement that creates paradigm shifts in surgical standards-of-care.”

Steve Heniges, Viking’s senior vice-president of global marketing & communications, said, “As 3-D visualization increasingly becomes the desired standard of care for MIS surgeons around the world, it is only natural that surgeons performing these procedures in the UK would want the opportunity for that advancement.”