Company Claims Less Painful Bone Marrow Biopsies

[Guest guest]

[As many of us can attest, this can be very painful. Even in an

expert's hands, the pain can be significant. For me, it seems to be

getting worse each time I have one.]

Vidacare® Announces Clearance of Novel Bone Marrow Biopsy System for

Hematology/Oncology

New Technology Designed to Increase Control, Improve Core Capture

Rates, and

Reduce Patient Discomfort

SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vidacare, the leading developer,

manufacturer

and marketer of advanced intraosseous technology, today announced it has

received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

to market

its new bone marrow biopsy (trephine) system. With its lithium-powered

driver,

Vidacare’s OnControl™ Bone Marrow Biopsy System represents the

first effort

in decades to improve the speed, control, core capture rate, and patient

comfort of the bone marrow biopsy procedure.

The FDA’s approval of the OnControl Biopsy System is a key milestone for

Vidacare as well as patients requiring bone marrow biopsies,

says Philip

Faris Jr., CEO and president of Vidacare.

Bone marrow biopsies are the most

frequently performed intraosseous diagnostic procedure in the U.S. and

around

the world. Virtually unchanged for decades, the manual procedure

causes pain

rated as severe to worst possible pain by nearly 20 per cent of patients

participating in a recent study. The goal of the OnControl Biopsy

System is to

provide greater clinician control while increasing the core capture

rate, and

decreasing the discomfort experienced by patients and clinicians.â€

Expanding upon its innovative technology combining a battery-powered

driver

and specialty needles to rapidly and safely access the intraosseous space,

Vidacare has developed the OnControl Biopsy System to significantly

advance the

current state-of-the- art in bone marrow biopsy (trephine) procedures.

Necessary for the diagnosis and management of lymphoma, leukemia,

myeloma and other

hematological disorders, bone marrow biopsy has historically been very

painful for patients. The Vidacare system enables the clinician

performing the

procedure to quickly and precisely enter the intraosseous space,

successfully

capture a core, with minimal patient discomfort or pain. The Biopsy System

follows the recent launch of the OnControl Aspiration System.

The OnControl Biopsy System uses a lithium-powered driver, connected to

patented 11 gauge, 102mm or 152mm needles with specialized bi-beveled

cutting

tips. The system includes a biopsy tray designed to simplify needle

set access

and usage while maintaining a sterile environment. The cannula features a

standard luer-lock connector. Vidacare has created a training package

designed to

provide a realistic sensation of needle placement.

Vidacare's mission in developing the OnControl Bone Marrow Biopsy

System is

to make difficult biopsies a thing of the past.

About Vidacare Corporation

Vidacare® is the leading developer, manufacturer, and marketer of advanced

intraosseous (IO) access technology for multiple diagnostic,

monitoring, and

therapeutic applications. The company's initial product line, the EZ-IO®

System by Vidacare, serves the emergent care industry as the worlds only

lithium-battery powered drill and patented needle set for gaining

immediate vascular

access when conventional IV access is difficult or impossible. Vidacare's

OnControl suite of hematology/oncology products includes a power

driver and

specially-designed needle sets for bone marrow aspiration, stem cell

harvesting, and biopsy (trephine). The OnControl Aspiration System by

Vidacare

represents the first in this series of products and is commercially

available.

Headquartered in San , Texas, Vidacare was founded in 2001 and

owns the

exclusive rights to innovative IO technologies developed at the

University of

Texas Health Science Center-San . For more information, visit

_www.vidacare. com_ (http://www.vidacare .com/)