RITA Medical Launches New LifeGuard(TM) Vision(TM) Safety Needle; Proprietary ''See-Through'' Feature Designed for Greater Clinician Safety; Low-Profile Safety Needle Designed for Improved Patient Comfort
Joseph DeVivo, President and CEO of RITA Medical commented, "We believe the LifeGuard Vision safety needle will help us build momentum in this important market while reinforcing the RITA brand in our core oncology customer segment. The LifeGuard Vision is an important addition to our specialty access catheter product line as we execute our strategy to offer a premium, robust and competitively priced infusion product line to our customers."
The LifeGuard Vision expands the Company's integrated product offering to oncology practices worldwide and is the only safety needle product in the industry to use the Company's proprietary clear-bodied low-profile needle guard design. The LifeGuard Vision provides clinicians with both a visible confirmation of needle protection as well as an audible and tactile "click" upon complete needle retraction. The product is designed to improve patient comfort with a low profile design that allows clinicians to apply a flat, secure dressing over the device during use.
The LifeGuard Vision Safety Needle is used to access implanted vascular ports to administer fluids and/or blood products, and/or to withdraw blood. It facilitates safe removal by encapsulating the needle during vascular port de-accessing, helping prevent needle stick injuries.
About RITA Medical Systems, Inc.
RITA Medical Systems develops, manufactures and markets innovative products for cancer patients including radiofrequency ablation (RFA) systems for treating cancerous tumors as well as percutaneous vascular and spinal access systems. The Company's oncology product lines include implantable ports, some of which feature its proprietary Vortex® technology; tunneled central venous catheters; safety infusion sets and peripherally inserted central catheters used primarily in cancer treatment protocols. The proprietary RITA system uses radiofrequency energy to heat tissue to a high enough temperature to ablate it or cause cell death. In March 2000, RITA became the first RFA Company to receive specific FDA clearance for unresectable liver lesions in addition to its previous general FDA clearance for the ablation of soft tissue. In October 2002, RITA again became the first company to receive specific FDA clearance, this time, for the palliation of pain associated with metastatic lesions involving bone. The RITA Medical Systems website is at www.ritamedical.com.
The statements in this news release related to the performance of the new LifeGuard Vision safety needles, physician adoption of the LifeGuard Vision safety needles, and the technological achievements of the LifeGuard Vision safety needles, are forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Information regarding these risks is included in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CONTACT: RITA Medical Systems, Inc.
Stephen Pedroff, 510-771-0400
spedroff@ritamed.com
or
Investors:
EVC Group
Doug Sherk/Jennifer Beugelmans, 415-896-6820
dsherk@evcgroup.com
or
Media:
SurfMedia Communications
Juliana Minsky, 805-962-3700
jm@surfmedia.com
SOURCE: RITA Medical Systems, Inc.