Broncus Technologies is a medical technology
company focused on developing minimally-invasive
medical devices for lung diseases, including lung
cancer and emphysema. With LungPoint™, physicians
plan bronchoscopic procedures and navigate to
locations in the lungs accurately and quickly. Our
line of Yield™ catheters are used to obtain
biopsy samples and detect blood vessels. Our
patented treatment method, Airway Bypass using
Exhale® Drug-Eluting Stents, is being investigated to
determine if it can provide the first minimally-invasive
treatment option for homogeneous, or diffuse,
emphysema, the form of the disease experienced
by the majority of emphysema patients.
|
Airway Bypass Animation
Airway Bypass is an investigational bronchoscopic
procedure being studied to see if it can improve
pulmonary function and dyspnea (breathlessness) in
patients with advanced widespread (”homogeneous”)
emphysema. During the procedure new passages
are created through the walls of the natural airways
to connect the damaged lung tissue to the larger
airways. These new passages may provide a way
for the trapped air in the inner lung to escape by
“bypassing” the collapsing small airways. After
each new passage is made, a small drug-eluting
stent is placed and provides support to keep the
passageway open over time. The goal of the
treatment is to allow trapped air to escape the
lungs and thereby relieve some of the symptoms
of emphysema, such as shortness of breath. |
|
|
|
The EASE Trial has completed enrollment.
Follow-up testing on the trial participants will continue over
the next few years, though initial trial results should be available
in 2010. You can learn more about the trial at the National Institutes
of Health website for clinical trials: www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00391612
|
|
