Daxor Corporation (NYSE Amex: DXR), a medical instrumentation and biotechnology company, today announced the receipt of a signed trial agreement from Pacific Cardiology, LLC of Honolulu, Hawaii. This will provide Pacific Cardiology with a Blood Volume Analyzer-100 (BVA-100), an instrument which enables semi-automated measurement of a patient's total blood volume, red blood cell volume and plasma volume. Blood volume abnormalities are observed in a variety of cardiac conditions. Proper diagnosis and correction of blood volume abnormalities can lead to improved patient outcomes.
Pacific Cardiology was co-founded by Dr. Gregg Yamada and Dr. Calvin Wong in 2000. It became affiliated with Stanford University in 2007 and is one of the largest medical practices in Hawaii. Pacific Cardiology provides comprehensive cardiovascular care including advanced diagnostic imaging methods and interventional therapies. Pacific Cardiology is certified in ICAEL (Echo Cardiography), ICANL (Nuclear Medicine), and ICACTL (Computed Tomography) laboratories. The practice places a strong emphasis on preventative cardiology and lowering of patients' risk factors so as to minimize the need for invasive procedures.
Another major area of concern is the treatment of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF), which is a major medical expense for patients over 65 years of age. Such patients require frequent readmission to the hospital to treat their condition. Medicare is currently evaluating whether or not to withhold reimbursement for CHF hospital readmissions which occur in less than 30 days. This will provide a strong economic incentive for hospitals to provide treatments which are effective over the long-term.
In a previous study of 43 patients using the BVA-100, heart failure patients who were treated to a normal blood volume showed a 100% survival rate over a two-year period, in contrast to patients who remained volume overloaded -- who showed only a 45% survival rate. These findings are extremely significant in light of the fact that hospitals may lose their reimbursement for repeat hospitalizations within a 30-day period for the treatment of heart failure patients.
In addition to being able to provide clinical blood volume measurements for their patients, Pacific Cardiology will also be participating in a clinical trial (TEAM-HF) which will further examine whether blood volume assessment followed by treatment to a normal volume status leads to improved outcomes for heart failure patients. This trial will include 300 heart failure patients from at least 9 medical centers. The objective of the TEAM-HF Study is to determine the decrease in re-hospitalization and mortality, and the improvement in exercise capacity and quality of life in heart failure patients when a blood volume analysis has been incorporated into their diagnosis and treatment. The Obama administration's efforts to improve the efficiency of medical treatments are consistent with the main goals of the TEAM-HF Study. If it can be determined in a large-scale study that a blood volume analysis leads to more appropriate treatments and better outcomes, the BVA-100 may become a standard of care in heart failure.
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