Volcano Therapeutics, Inc. Announces Collaboration
in Pioneering Vulnerable
Plaque Study
IVUS Imaging and Technology to Characterize Coronary Plaque Composition*
is
Viewed as Central to Research Targeted at Vulnerable Plaque Diagnostics
Rancho Cordova, CA, and Washington, DC, September 27, 2004 - Volcano Therapeutics today announced the utilization of its IVUS (Intravascular Ultrasound) and IVUS-based plaque composition technology* in Guidant Corporation's PROSPECT (Providing Regional Observations to Study Predictors of Events in the Coronary Tree) trial. PROSPECT is a natural history study of acute coronary syndrome and is focused on developing a better understanding of vulnerable plaques that may cause most heart attacks.
Recent research indicates that these vulnerable plaques can rupture unexpectedly, causing blood to clot and a heart attack to occur. The PROSPECT study will correlate plaque characteristics from IVUS, patient risk factors and biomarker measurements with subsequent heart attacks and other cardiac events, potentially paving the way for physicians to identify and treat at-risk patients before a heart attack occurs.
In the PROSPECT trial, Volcano's conventional IVUS technology and groundbreaking IVUS-based plaque composition technology* will be utilized to collect data from the main three coronary arteries. IVUS is a catheter-based technology that provides clinicians with a high-resolution view of the coronary arteries from the inside. In an IVUS procedure, the IVUS catheter is connected to a console. The physician directs the catheter through the femoral artery, over the guide wire to the desired coronary artery. A microscopic transducer mounted on the tip of the catheter emits an ultrasound signal. The IVUS console processes the ultrasound signal as it bounces off the vessel wall, and an image of inside of the vessel is displayed. With conventional IVUS these images are in grayscale, but with Volcano's new IVUS-based plaque composition technology* the plaque images can now be displayed in color, with plaque components show as fibrous, fibro-fatty, dense calcium or necrotic core.
By understanding the composition of a plaque, physicians may one day be able to better identify vulnerable plaques and eventually utilize more effective treatment options for patients with vulnerable plaques before they rupture and cause heart attacks.
* Volcano's IVUS-based plaque composition technology is pending 510(K) review, and is not available for sale within the United States.
Principal Investigator Gregg Stone, M.D., professor of Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons commented, "While angioplasty and stents are remarkably effective in relieving chest pain in patients with known heart disease, there is currently no way to pre-emptively diagnose and treat the more than one million people every year having heart attacks or dying from unsuspected blockages in the arteries in the heart. The landmark PROSPECT trial is the first major attempt to identify those patients with such "vulnerable plaques" at great future risk, in whom prophylactic therapy may prevent heart damage and save lives."
Scott Huennekens, President and CEO of Volcano Therapeutics added, "Volcano is extremely excited to work with Guidant and the clinical investigators in the U.S. and Europe on this groundbreaking trial. We anticipate PROSPECT will collect valuable clinical information about the role of vulnerable plaques in heart attacks and the potential of Volcano's IVUS-based technologies to preemptively diagnose patients at risk -- so heart attacks can be prevented."
About Volcano Therapeutics, Inc.
Volcano Therapeutics, Inc. is a privately held medical device company founded in 2001 and now has over 400 employees. The company is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of products for the detection and treatment of atherosclerosis and vulnerable plaques in the coronary arteries and peripheral vascular system. Volcano Therapeutics recently acquired the IVUS and coronary physiology measurement business units of JOMED NV. Volcano products include IVUS and physiology guide wires. With global distribution, Volcano Therapeutics, Inc. is a leading provider of innovative diagnostic solutions to the interventional cardiology field. For more information, please visit www.volcanotherapeutics.com.
Source: Volcano Therapeutics, Inc. |
