OptiMedica Corp. Presentations at ARVO 2009 to Cover PASCAL Laser Technology
May 1, 2009
OptiMedica Corp. announced that its PASCAL Photocoagulator technology will be discussed as part of 17 presentations at ARVO. Authored by a group of ophthalmologists from around the world, the presentations cover a range of research topics including: clinical experience with PASCAL; the comparison between PASCAL and conventional photocoagulators; the combination of PASCAL and pharmacology; and new and potential clinical applications of PASCAL.
Conclusions from a number of the presentations support PASCAL’s potential to significantly increase the precision, safety and efficiency of the photocoagulation procedure, which may lead to improved patient outcomes.
Panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) has traditionally been performed over multiple sessions using conventional single-spot lasers. However, recent research has shown that multiple session PRP may prolong the duration of macula edema (retinal thickening that can lead to blindness) after the procedure.
Two ARVO presentations from Japan and the United Kingdom offer evidence suggesting that single-session PRP with PASCAL is preferable to both single-session and multiple-session treatment using conventional single-spot laser.
In “PASCAL Laser Photocoagulation Induces Less VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) Expression in Murine Retina Than Conventional Laser Treatment,” Yoshio Hirano, M.D. (Nagoya University Medical Sciences, Japan) will present findings of a mouse study that concluded PASCAL induced significantly less vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the sensory retina and may induce less macular edema after PRP, suggesting PASCAL may be safer than conventional laser.
In addition, Paulo E. Stanga, M.D. (Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Manchester Biomedical Research Center, University of Manchester, United Kingdom) will present “Manchester Study of Pattern Scanning Laser (PASCAL) Panretinal Photocoagulation (PRP) in Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy [MAPASS]: 1500 Burns Pattern vs. Single-Spot Multiple Sessions PRP.” This randomized study compared single-session PRP treatment with PASCAL against conventional laser treatment spread over three sessions. Findings showed that single-session treatment with PASCAL was not only ten times faster than the conventional treatment, but it also induced no macula edema at one month and three months. Therefore, the authors concluded that single-session treatment with PASCAL is both more efficient and safer than multi-session treatment with conventional laser.
Another comparative study looks at structural changes to the retina following PRP with PASCAL and conventional laser. Presented by Franz Prager, M.D. (Medical University of Vienna), “Comparison of Retinal Morphologic Changes Using Conventional and PASCAL Laser System” used advanced imaging technology (optical coherence tomography, or OCT) to compare PASCAL burns with those produced with conventional laser. The authors concluded that PASCAL burns are more uniform in size and shape, with spots that are round and equal in both size and spacing. This suggests that PASCAL delivers a significantly higher level of precision and consistency than conventional lasers.
Read the full press release.
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