Cook Medical Launches Holmium Laser For Kidney Stone Removal

Main Category: Urology / Nephrology
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Article Date: 29 Jan 2009 - 7:00 PDT

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Today Cook Medical introduces the latest addition to its endourology device portfolio: the Odyssey 30 Holmium Laser System. As a result, physicians have more options to safely treat stones in the bladder, ureter and kidney, as well as tumours and ureteral strictures.

The Odyssey 30 Holmium Laser system uses patented, variable pulse width technology that gives surgeons the ability to minimize stone migration as well as the flexibility to switch from disintegration of stones to ablation and coagulation of soft tissue. The Odyssey system is equipped with enough power to treat any renal stone-regardless of size, position or composition-and a green aiming beam to enhance visibility of the treatment site.

New research has predicted an increase in the proportion of the population affected by kidney stones due to dehydration and diet.[1] In the UK alone, stones occur in nearly 12 of every 100 men and four of every 100 women at some point in their lives.[2] With kidney stones on the rise, the need for innovative technology in operating theatres is vital. Although there are many treatments and surgical options available for kidney stones, fragmentation with a laser is very precise. It causes minimal damage, and the results are typically much better at immediately removing the obstruction.

Mr. Adrian Joyce, from the Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, said, "I've worked with Cook products for a number of years and have seen a steady evolution of more innovative and smaller baskets and graspers, which are incredibly effective in the removal of kidney stones. The addition of the Odyssey to Cook's extensive endourology product line will benefit surgeons, The product line will help ensure our patients have a speedier and more comfortable procedure experience and help prevent them from developing stones in the future."

Jerry French, business unit leader for the urology division at Cook Medical, said, "For more than 30 years, urologists have turned to Cook for practical innovation and the latest technology to render patients stone free. This tradition looks to continue with the Odyssey 30 Holmium Laser System and offers clinicians an additional device in the treatment of kidney stones, while improving the lives of millions of patients."

Footnotes:

1 Tom H. Brikowski, Yair Lotan, Margaret S. Pearle. (2008) Climate-related increase in the prevalence of urolithiasis in the United States. PNAS. Vol. 105, no. 28, 9841-9846.

2 http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/Kidney_stones.html

About Cook Medical

Cook Medical was one of the first companies to help popularise interventional medicine, pioneering many of the devices now commonly used worldwide to perform minimally invasive medical procedures. Today, the company integrates device design, biopharma, gene and cell therapy and biotech to enhance patient safety and improve clinical outcomes in the fields of aortic intervention; interventional cardiology; critical care medicine; gastroenterology; radiology, peripheral vascular, bone access and oncology; surgery and soft tissue repair; urology; and assisted reproductive technology, gynaecology and high-risk obstetrics. Cook is a past winner of the prestigious Medical Device Manufacturer of the Year Award from Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry magazine.

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