MINNEAPOLIS, April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ATS Medical,
Inc. (Nasdaq: ATSI), manufacturer and marketer of state-of-the-art
cardiac surgery products and services, today announced
participation in the upcoming 90th Annual Meeting of the American
Association for Thoracic Surgeons (AATS) being held in Toronto, Canada, from May 1-5, 2010. The Annual AATS meeting is a
key gathering of cardiovascular surgeons, nurses and allied health
professionals which provides an excellent venue to showcase the
first sutureless tissue valve, the ATS Enable® Aortic
Bioprosthesis, to the international surgical community.
(Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040202/ATSILOGO)
The ATS 3f Enable valve is the first surgical aortic tissue
valve approved for commercial use that is implanted using a
sutureless technique. The Enable valve received CE Mark
approval in December 2009, and has
been well received in key European centers. The Enable valve
combines the ATS 3f® Aortic Bioprosthesis with over eight years of
proven clinical performance and a self-expanding Nitinol™ frame to
hold the valve in its optimal position thereby eliminating the need
for conventional sutures. This design allows the Enable valve
to be folded into a small diameter and placed through a minimally
invasive incision. The Enable valve preserves native stress
distribution and provides a large orifice area with laminar flow
for excellent hemodynamics.
The ATS 3f® Aortic Bioprosthesis, the first product offering of
the 3f tissue platform, will also be prominently featured.
This valve received FDA approval in 2008 and is commercially
available worldwide. Based on the precept that 'Form Follows
Function,' the ATS 3f Aortic Bioprosthesis is a revolutionary next
generation stentless pericardial aortic tissue valve that is unlike
any other valve. It is designed to function just like a
native valve. Its tubular design was inspired by how a native
valve forms in utero: as a tube with sides that collapse when
external pressure is applied. The primary benefit of the ATS
3f Aortic Bioprosthesis is that it restores physiologic,
non-turbulent blood flow and native-like stress distribution to the
aortic root. This valve provides surgeons and patients a
potentially more durable solution to aortic valve replacement.
The mechanical heart valve segment will feature the flagship ATS
Open Pivot® Heart Valve. The family of ATS mechanical heart
valves features a unique open pivot design that results in
exceptional hemodynamic performance and a low risk profile. The ATS
Simulus® Annuloplasty product line, designed for the heart valve
repair market, will also be showcased.
Highlighting ATS' broad product offering in the field of
ablation technology, the exhibition will include a demonstration of
the ATS CryoMaze® Surgical Ablation System for the treatment of
cardiac arrhythmias. The ATS CryoMaze® Surgical System
provides results similar to the gold standard cut-and-sew Cox Maze
III procedure and is being used by a growing number of surgeons as
their ablation technology of choice.
Hands-on demonstrations of all the unique technologies from ATS
Medical will be available at the ATS Medical booth #635.
About ATS Medical
ATS Medical, Inc. is dedicated to 'Advancing The Standards' of
cardiac surgery through the development, manufacturing and
marketing of innovative products and services for the treatment of
structural heart disease. ATS Medical serves the cardiac surgery
community by focusing on two distinct but operationally synergistic
market segments: heart valve disease therapy and surgical ablation
of cardiac arrhythmias.
ATS was originally founded to develop the ATS Open Pivot® Heart
Valve as a new mechanical heart valve standard of care. Today the
ATS Open Pivot Heart Valve is the preferred mechanical heart valve
in many markets around the world and the fastest growing mechanical
prosthesis in the market. Building on this legacy and addressing
the largest market segment in heart valve therapy, the ATS 3f®
brand encompasses an innovative tissue heart valve portfolio to
address conventional open surgery requirements as well as the
growing demand for less invasive sutureless based procedures. The
ATS 3f® portfolio includes offerings at various stages including
early product development, pivotal clinical trials, and market
commercialization. Completing the portfolio in heart valve therapy
is the ATS Simulus® annuloplasty product line. Simulus products
assist the surgeon in repairing a patient's native heart valve as
an alternative to replacement. Continuing ATS Medical's focus on
serving the cardiac surgery community are the ATS CryoMaze®
products for surgical cryoablation of cardiac arrhythmias. ATS
CryoMaze® products are used by surgeons to treat patients suffering
from cardiac arrhythmias, the largest and fastest growing form of
structural heart disease in populations over 60 years of age. The
ATS Medical web site is http://www.atsmedical.com.
Cautionary Statements
This Press Release contains forward-looking statements that may
include statements regarding intent, belief or current expectations
of the Company and its management. Actual results could differ
materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements
as a result of a number of important factors, including the results
of clinical trials, the timing of regulatory approvals, the impact
of pending healthcare reforms, regulatory actions, competition,
pricing pressures, supplier actions and management of growth. For a
discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that could
affect the Company's activities and results, please refer to the
Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and its most recent quarterly
report on Form 10-Q.
SOURCE ATS Medical, Inc.