Life-Saving Innovation Honored at BIOCOM's 5th Annual Med Device & Diagnostics Expo

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 23, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- From a balloon catheter that allows physicians to quickly access, prepare and assess their repair of challenging cardiac lesions, to a web-based diagnostic to gauge the progression of Alzheimer's Disease, Southern California's life-saving innovation was honored Nov. 18 at BIOCOM's 2010 Med Device & Diagnostics Expo.

More than 200 people got an exclusive preview of the region's cutting-edge technology that was developed by fourteen companies exhibiting at the Expo. Attendees also had a chance to network with some of the region's leading entrepreneurs, service providers and finance executives at the fifth annual Expo hosted by BIOCOM, the world's largest regional life sciences trade association.

Three products featured at the Expo earned special recognition from a panel of industry experts:

Volcano Corporation won the "The Far Out Award" for its Vibe RX Vascular Imaging Balloon Catheter. The award is given to a device or diagnostic tool that is so innovative it borders on science fiction.

The Volcano balloon catheter, designed by an engineering team in San Diego, is the only IVUS catheter in the world that has integrated balloon dilation technology. With this one catheter a doctor can quickly access, prepare and assess challenging lesions. (www.volcanocorp.com)

"The integration of this technology into a very small device allows reduced interventions in a risky patient population," said Steve Flaim, President of the San Diego Tech Coast Angels, who was one of the award judges.

RF Surgical Systems' RF Assure device was a double award winner, taking home both the "I Would Invest in This" and "Why Didn't I Think of That" awards.

Assure is a scan mat that detects surgical gauze and sponges that have radiofrequency tags attached to them. The mat is placed under the patient in a surgical setting to prevent the sponges and gauze from being left in the patient. (www.rfsurg.com)

Judge Jonathan Mack, PhD, RN, NP and Post Doctoral Fellow at the West Wireless Health Institute said he liked this tool's focus on patient safety and that it was simple to use and inexpensive.

Nancy Pratt, Senior Vice President at Sharp Healthcare found the tool "elegantly simple and a great business model."

CorTechs Labs won the "Life Changing Award" for its NeuroQuant OnLine diagnostic for Alzheimer's Disease. The award is given to a product that has had the biggest impact on an individual and addresses the greatest medical need.

NeuroQuant OnLine is the only FDA cleared and fully automated volumetric analysis solution for quantitative detection of brain atrophy suitable for routine clinical use. Available on line, the web-based diagnostic tool allows users to upload individual high-resolution 3D MRI scans from any device that can connect to the Internet. A few minutes later, printable clinical reports are returned that enable an analysis that can help with the detection of Alzheimer's in the early stages, before it is very symptomatic.  (www.cortechslabs.com)

"Its diagnosis of Alzheimer's is new and life changing," said Nimesh Shah, a principal at Domain Associates and one of the Expo judges.

About BIOCOM

BIOCOM is the largest regional life science association in the world, representing more than 550 member companies in Southern California. The association focuses on initiatives that positively influence the region's life science community in the development and delivery of innovative products that improve health and quality of life. This includes initiatives in capital formation, public policy, workforce development, group purchasing and member services such as networking events. For more information on BIOCOM or the Southern California biotechnology and medical device community, please visit www.biocom.org.

SOURCE BIOCOM