• Endocare(Irvine, California), which is focused on the development of minimally invasive technologies for tissue and tumor ablation along with vacuum technologies for erectile dysfunction, said that data from a study performed at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center (New York), and published in the journalCancer, showed additional promising results for men who choose cryoablation as the primary means of treating prostate cancer, even when those patients were considered to be in a high-risk profile. The 65-patient study, in which the Endocare Cryocare system was used principally, examined the results of men who elected to have prostate cryosurgery as their primary therapy between January 1998 and April 2002. All of the men in the study exhibited symptoms deemed high risk, including prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels greater than or equal to 10 ng/mL and/or a Gleason sum score greater than or equal to 8. Following the procedure, patients were monitored via physical examinations and PSA screening every three months and with radiologic imaging in some cases. After a median follow-up period of 35 months, the PSA biochemical disease-free survival rate was 83% of patients, according to the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology criteria. The overall survival rate at the time of publication was 100%.

• FEI (Hillsboro, Oregon) reported the launch of its new scanning/transmission electron microscope (S/TEM), the Titan 80-300, dedicated to corrected microscopy. The new S/TEM system yields atomic-scale imaging with resolution below 0.7 Angstrom. The Titan 80-300 is designed as a dedicated and upgradeable, aberration-corrected system that will enable corrector and monochromator technology to enter into mainstream nanotechnology research and industrial markets. The Titan S/TEM system features unparalleled overall stability to break the 1-Angstrom barrier, FEI said. Corrector upgrades can be added for higher resolution, extending the point resolution down to the information limit for accurate interpretation of atomic structures. The system will be fully available for demon- strations after Titan’s official launch at the 2005 Microscopy and Microanalysis meeting in Honolulu in August.

• SpectruMedix (State College, Pennsylvania), a manufacturer of high-throughput capillary electrophoresis instrumentation for genetic analysis, reported the launch of a new application package to the Reveal Genetic Analysis System – human bacterial and viral pathogen (HBVP) detection and identification. The Reveal HBVP System will include complete chemistry and instrumentation methodology for accurate, low cost, high throughput detection and identification of bacterial and viral pathogens. The first set of assays include Chlamydia trachomatis, Bordetella pertussis, Bor-de-tella parapertussis, Staphlocococcus mecA, E. coli Shiga like toxin II, Herpes simplex virus, Cytomegalovirus and Varicella- zoster virus. This new technology expands the functionality of the Reveal Genetic Analysis System, which the company said is known for DNA variant discovery and identification, fragment analysis and sequencing. The HBVP System takes advantage of the ability to use intercalating dyes to detect unlabelled double-stranded DNA.

• Thoratec (Pleasanton, California) reported that a Chicago man was the first in the nation to receive the HeartMate II Left Ventricular Assist (LVAS) device in a destination therapy clinical trial. The procedure was performed March 21 by Mark Slaughter, MD, director of the mechanical assist device program at Advocate Christ Medical Center (Oak Lawn, Illinois). The HeartMate II is an implantable, continuous-flow device designed to provide long-term cardiac support for patients who are in late-stage heart failure. The national pivotal trial will determine the safety and efficacy of the device as DT in late-stage heart failure patients and will involve 200 total patients at up to 40 sites, randomizing the HeartMate II to the HeartMate XVE LVAS. Thoratec’s HeartMate XVE is the only commercially available LVAS FDA-approved for DT. In a separate arm of the study, the HeartMate II will be evaluated as a bridge-to-transplant (BTT) for late-stage heart failure patients who are eligible for cardiac transplantation but in need of temporary support until a donor heart becomes available. Up to 25 sites will enroll a total of 133 patients in the BTT arm.