Asahi Intecc of Japan and Israel's MediGuide have signed a collaboration agreement for development and marketing of an innovative guide wire (G-Wire) for surgical procedures. The guide wire uses an integrated, sub-millimeter magnetic tracking sensor, and is intended for the interventional cardiology market.
G-Wire will enable physicians to visually track the actual orientation, as well as the 3D spatial tip position of the wire, while manipulating it in real time. In addition, it will enable marking and 3D visualization capabilities also offered by the MediGuide technology. This new functionality is expected to be extremely useful during procedures such as chronic total occlusion (CTO) as well as other complex operations which require accurate wire manipulation in the field of interventional cardiology.
Martin B. Leon, M.D., Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center and Founder of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation in New York City, said: “This collaboration brings together the most advanced guidewires and sophisticated imaging and guidance technology, providing an exciting opportunity to improve CTO therapy in the future.”
MediGuide president and CEO Gera Strommer said, "Asahi is a world leader in the field of guide wires and the combination of gMPS with Asahi wire technology is a perfect fit to MediGuide's strategy to enable leading manufacturers of medical devices with the gMPS technology for better patient care".
Asahi Intecc develops and supplies wire materials and products to industries inside and outside Japan. MediGuide was spun off from Elbit Systems (Nasdaq: ESLT; TASE: ESLT). It provides technology, solutions and applications for intra body navigation and less invasive procedures with a special focus on cardiology.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on June 26, 2008
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