CARDIMA PRESENTS LINEAR ABLATION TECHNOLOGIES AT THE 5TH CHINA ATRIAL FIBRILLATION SYMPOSIUM HELD IN BEIJING
FREMONT, CA. (July 9, 2007) – Cardima, Inc. (OTCBB: CADM.OB), developer of the REVELATION® Tx, REVELATION® T-Flex and REVELATION® Helix ablation microcatheters and INTELLITEMP® Energy Management Device, hosted a satellite symposium on July 7th, 2007 at the China Atrial Fibrillation Symposium held in Beijing.
Cardima's satellite symposium, entitled "New Linear Catheter Ablation System and Techniques for the Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation," was held before an audience, which included electrophysiology physicians from all over China. The symposium featured three speakers from USA and UK, covering strategies for treating atrial fibrillation (AF), involving right and left atrial compartmentalization techniques with Cardima devices.
The Symposium Chairman was Sanjeev Saksena, MD, FHRS, FACC, FESC, FAHA, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, in New Jersey, and Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology.
The first speaker was Abraham G. Kocheril, MD, FACC, FACP, Director of Clinical Electrophysiology, Professor of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Medicine, whose topic was “Using a Linear Catheter to find Order out of Chaos”. Dr. Kocheril reported that he achieved long-term success of 79% in 29 paroxysmal AF patients that had 20 months’ follow-up after right atrial ablation. He stated that this success is attributable to Cardima’s linear catheter technology, which allows simultaneous mapping and analysis of multiple atrial signals to guide ablation, then ablate using the same mapping electrodes thereafter.
The second speaker was Jaswinder Gill, MD, FRCP, FACC, Director of Pacing and Electrophysiology, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospitals of the National Health Service, London, UK. His feature presentation was entitled “Next Generation Multi-Electrode Linear Ablation System for Atrial Compartmentalization”, in which he showed a “live case” training video on the application of Cardima’s REVELATION T-Flex catheter for left atrial compartmentalization. This is the first demonstration of the use of a linear ablation catheter in the left atrium.
Dr. Gill is near completion of enrolling 30 patients in a trial using the Cardima ablation system. In the past 6 months of this trial, he has treated 22 patients suffering from atrial fibrillation, all of whom demonstrated acute success in pulmonary vein isolation. Dr. Gill said, "Cardima's multi-electrode linear ablation catheter requires less energy to create the lesions and it is faster than conventional devices, as the INTELLITEMP® device energizes multiple electrodes at the same time. These catheters will allow us to mimic the surgical MAZE procedure in an endocardial EP procedure. This will allow us to treat more recalcitrant forms of atrial fibrillation”.
Dr. Sanjeev Saksena, the Chairman of the symposium, presented “The Role of Linear Ablation and Atrial Resynchronization in Hybrid Therapy for Atrial Fibrillation”. Highlights of his talk were that linear ablation increases success rates in pulmonary vein isolation, and that right atrial ablation lines together with pacemakers are a safe strategy and effective hybrid strategy to suppress AF.
"We are pleased that the presentations by these respected and erudite EP physicians have served to introduce the various strategies for using Cardima linear ablation technology to treat atrial fibrillation, to Chinese Electrophysiologists,” commented Eric Chan, PhD., Sr. Vice President of Product Development. “In addition to these talks, we received very positive feedback from China’s key opinion leaders in the field of AF ablation. We are looking very much forward to completing our product registration in China so that we can launch our products in this huge market of untreated AF patients”, added Mr. Chan.
About Cardima
Cardima, Inc. has developed the PATHFINDER® and REVELATION® Series of diagnostic 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.
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. Potential risks and uncertainties include: the uncertainties associated with the prospects for FDA approval of any new devices; the prospect for any future clinical trials or regulatory activities; the risk that the Company will not be able to raise additional capital in the immediate term as needed to continue operations and the risk that we will be unable to secure a strategic transaction involving the Surgical Ablation System. Additional risks and uncertainties are set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 2006, the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB for the third quarter ended September 30, 2007, and in the Company's subsequent SEC filings. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes in the Company's plans or expectations.