Cardima and Stamford Hospital Medical Center Partner to Establish Surgical Ablation Training Program and Center of Excellence
FREMONT, CA – (MARKET WIRE) – October 27, 2008, Cardima, Inc. (OTC BB:CADM.OB - News), a medical device company focused on the treatment of Atrial Fibrillation (“AF”) and manufacturer of the Cardima Surgical Ablation System, the EP Ablation System, and the Pathfinder® family of diagnostic microcatheters, is pleased to announce the establishment of its Surgical Ablation Training Program and Center of Excellence at Stamford Hospital, Stamford, Connecticut, for the Cardima Surgical Ablation System. Stamford Hospital is an internationally recognized teaching hospital that maintains an educational partnership with the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York.
Dr. Li Poa, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Cardiac Surgery Program Director at Stamford Hospital and faculty member of Columbia University, is one of the world’s leading authorities on surgical ablation for the treatment of Atrial Fibrillation (AF). Dr. Li Poa will head the Cardima Center of Excellence Program at Stamford Hospital. He has conducted extensive work perfecting thorascopic surgical techniques, and will train cardiothoracic surgeons on using the Cardima Surgical Ablation System.Stamford Hospital and the surgical team led by Dr. Li Poa will provide cardiothoracic surgeons with an opportunity to expand their practice using the Cardima Surgical Ablation System. This training will allow these new hospitals to offer their community a successful treatment option for Atrial Fibrillation. As Cardima expands in the USA surgical market, as well as globally into select markets, additional Training Programs and Centers of Excellence will be established in strategic geographic areas.
Dr. Li Poa commented: “Based on our experience at Stamford Hospital using Cardima’s Surgical Ablation System, we have established that the Cardima system is capable of creating a fairly complete complex lesion set for the minimally invasive surgical treatment of lone AF with the establishment of both pulmonary vein and antral isolation, ablation of the right sided gangliae and posterior inferior vena cava, and a crossing closed loop lesion of the coronary sinus isthmus. The Cardima system has been shown to reliably and reproducibly establish both entrance conduction block and exit conduction block in its pulmonary vein isolation series. This is a very important development for achieving effective long-term results. The Cardima system can create continuous transmural lesions, without gaps and can be easily manipulated to create all the necessary lesions for a full surgical procedure. The entire AF ablation procedure can be completed rapidly using the least invasive approach for epicardial ablation via a unilateral two-port thorascopic approach. Having completed over 260 minimally invasive AF ablation procedures using a variety of technologies, I believe the Cardima Surgical Ablation System offers significant benefits in the areas of safety for the patient, completeness of the lesion set, effectiveness of lesion creation and ease of use. I look forward to working with Cardima to teach this important and truly minimally invasive treatment for Atrial Fibrillation to fellow surgeons and medical professionals in the USA and throughout the world.”
Cardima’s CEO, Robert Cheney, commented: “This is an important milestone for Cardima - establishing our surgical training program and Center of Excellence at Stamford Hospital for our Surgical Ablation System. We are honored to be working with a physician of Dr. Li Poa’s stature and a prestigious institution such as Stamford Hospital with a reputation for excellence in teaching and research. Cardima and the team at Stamford Hospital have established an exceptional training program that will be both very effective and well received by physicians. Cardima is confident the Stamford training program will become one of the leading Atrial Fibrillation training programs in the world.”
Mr. Cheney continued, “Cardima will establish several additional surgical training centers and Cardima Centers of Excellence with surgeons who are experienced leaders in surgical ablation. Our goal is to establish Cardima Centers of Excellence in key surgical markets globally. These Centers of Excellence will provide the initial training to support the continued commercialization of the Cardima Surgical Ablation System. They will also offer continuing education to surgeons and medical professionals about the benefits of using the Cardima Surgical Ablation System.”
In addition to his central role in establishing the Center of Excellence at Stamford Hospital, Dr. Li Poa is also leading the training efforts in Thailand to establish a Cardima surgical Center of Excellence at Ramathibodi Hospital headed by Dr. Suchart Chaiyaroj. This facility will become a training center for all of Thailand and will focus on both domestic as well as high volume “tourist medicine” patients. The Cardima Surgical Ablation Center of Excellence program in Thailand enjoys the support of several important institutions, including, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University Medical School and the Thailand Ministry of Health.
About Cardima
Cardima, Inc. has developed the PATHFINDER®, TRACER™ and REVELATION® Series of diagnostic catheters, the VUEPORT® and NAVIPORT® Series of guiding catheters, the INTELLITEMP® Energy Management Device, and the Surgical Ablation System (SAS). All of these devices are CE marked and received U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance. The REVELATION® Series of ablation catheters with the INTELLITEMP® EP Energy Management Device was developed and marketed for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) after receiving CE mark approval in Europe; it is not currently available in the U.S.
PATHFINDER®, TRACERTM, VUEPORT®, NAVIPORT®, REVELATION® and INTELLITEMP® are registered trademarks of Cardima, Inc.
For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.cardima.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements, which include but not limited to, the adaptability of our technology to create continuous transmural lesions, without gaps and can be easily manipulated to create all the necessary lesions for a full surgical procedure, and our Surgical Ablation System offers significant benefits in the areas of safety for the patient, completeness of the lesion set, effectiveness of lesion creation and ease of use. Investors are referred to the full discussion of risks and uncertainties associated with forward-looking statements as contained in our reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Forms 10-K and 10-Q. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking information.
Contact:
Dr. Richard Gaston
Cardima, Inc.(510) 354-0300
http://www.cardima.com
Source: Cardima, Inc.