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2008-12-31
Holiday Greetings
Dear friends of CMA,
Another exciting year is about to come to an end. 2008, also known by the Chinese as the year of the Rat, will most likely be remembered long in history. During the year, the world has changed significantly. Just in the fourth quarter, we have seen business failures and downsizings, unprecedented government assistance, and an overall tightening of the financial markets.
Despite the global turmoil, 2008 has been another record year for CMA. The use of microdialysis in basic and clinical research, as well as routine use in selected clinical applications continues to thrive. We've noted significant growth within large molecule protein and peptide research, skin research, as well as routine use of microdialysis in neuro intensive care and free flap surgery.
The CMA group continues to bring innovative solutions to the market. We've successfully launched the ISCUSflex, our third generation analyzer. Dipylon Medical, CMA's affiliate, has launch a unique catheter intended for post-operative metabolic monitoring of the human heart.
In the midst of the Rat year, we managed to attract siginificant growth capital from Northern Europe's largest industrial holding company, Investor AB. As major shareholders in multi-national companies as AstraZeneca, Ericsson and ABB, I am confident that they will bring great value to CMA as well as our partners and customers.
I would like to thank our loyal and wonderful staff, the many ambassadors and friends across the globe and not least all our distributors covering more than 50 countries.
Have a safe and happy holiday season, and please extend my gratitude to your families and loved ones who support you throughout the year.
With gratitude,
Philip Siberg
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2008-12-01
Interviews with doctors from for various microdialysis applications
There are several interviews available on our website with Microdialysis users within the clinic and clinical research. The interviews are short and comprehensive. These might be very interesting to read for those who want to start microdialysis in a new field and meet experienced expert user.
For reading the latest interview with Professor Niels Quist, Denmark in the gastro field please
Click here
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2008-10-07
Introducing the ISCUS flex CMA's third generation Microdialysis analyzer
CMA is proud to launch the ISCUS flex , our third generation Microdialysis Analyzer for point-of-care and advanced research. The portable analyzer uses enzymatic reagents and colorimetric measurements to monitor chemistry from virtually any tissue or organ in the body, as well as in the blood.
The analyzer is easy to operate by medical professionals as well as researchers with a new and improved graphical user interface. Up to six different reagents provide unique opportunities for early detection of metabolic crisis and ischemia and to guide therapeutical interventions. The analysis results are displayed as trend curves for easy and fast interpretation.
ISCUS flex combines reliability and flexibility. It offers the opportunity to monitor up to eight patients at a time and is ideal for use in a clinical setting. With a capacity of 16 vials, the ISCUS flex offers batch analysis for advanced clinical and preclinical research.
The ISCUS flex is initially launched and only available in Europe. We are expecting formal launch and approval by regulatory authorities in other countries and regions shortly.
For more info, see the products section and the product note product note
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2008-09-16
CMA raises SEK 70 million (USD 10.4 million) in growth capital from new investors
Through a new shares issue, Investor Growth Capital (IGC), a subsidiary of Investor AB, is investing a total of SEK 70 million (approx USD 10.4 million) in CMA. IGC will become the second largest shareholder following Skanditek Industriförvaltning AB.
The aim of the growth capital is to accelerate CMA’s growth plans and to prepare for a future international rollout of the company’s new technology platform. As a part of the intensified growth agenda, CMA will simultaneously invest SEK 27.5 million (approx USD 4.1 million) in the affiliate company, Dipylon Medical AB.
For more info see pressrelease
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2008-09-16
CMAs affiliate company Dipylon Medical secures SEK 27.5 million in growth capital
Dipylon Medical AB, an affiliate of CMA, focused on monitoring the heart, has successfully completed its financing process. Growth capital totaling SEK 27.5 million has now been contributed to the company for continued clinical studies and initial commercialization.
Dipylon Medical AB (“Dipylon”) has developed a new method for detecting serious complications following heart surgery. The company was founded two years ago and its first product received CE-marking and was approved for sales in Europe in January 2008. During the spring, an initial clinical study on patients undergoing heart surgery was conducted and the results were favorable. The company is now planning to conduct more extensive international clinical studies with a view to further demonstrating the system’s function when used worldwide by heart surgeons and intensive care doctors.
“ The capital contribution will enable us to accelerate our market introduction. The fact that we have now secured cash for our expansion is a definite confirmation of the company’s potential.” says Henrik Falkén, Managing Director of Dipylon Medical AB.
For more info see pressrelease
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2008-08-29
Microdialysis in human brain provides break-through insights into Alzheimer's disease
For the first time, researchers have described hour-by-hour changes in the amount of amyloid beta (Aβ), a protein believed to play a key role in Alzheimer's disease, in the human brain. A collaborative team of scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Milan have reported their results in the August 2008 issue of Science.
"Proving that we can directly measure amyloid beta in the human brain is an important step forward for both clinical and basic research, and that may be true not just in Alzheimer's disease but also in other serious neurological disorders," says co-first author David L. Brody, M.D., Ph.D., a Washington University neurologist who treats brain injury and general neurology patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
Amyloid beta levels were measured using microdialysis catheters from CMA. The Italian group, headed by Sandra Magnoni, M.D., and Nino Stocchetti, M.D., and located at the Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Milan, studied 18 patients recovering from traumatic brain injuries or ruptured brain aneurysms.
The research team found a strong positive correlation between changes in brain ISF Aβ concentrations and neurological status, with Aβ concentrations increasing as neurological status improved and falling when neurological status declined.
The results provide scientists important clues about the general origins of Alzheimer's. Further investigation is needed to answer the specialized question of why brain injury increases risk of Alzheimer's.
"Our ultimate goal is to develop interventions that we can apply after a traumatic brain injury to improve outcomes and reduce the long-term risk of Alzheimer's," says Dr. Brody .
"That means the findings agreed with the previous research on mice. That's important, as so much Alzheimer's research must be performed in animals", said Dr. Ramona Hicks, a specialist in traumatic brain injury at the National Institutes of Health, which helped fund the work.
While the work raises more questions than it answers, it brings researchers a valuable new tool for studying both Alzheimer's risk and just what happens during brain-injury recovery.
"It sort of sets a platform for future studies," says Dr. Ramona Hicks of the NIH.
Amyloid-beta dynamics correlate with neurological status in the injured human brain. Brody DL, Magnoni S, Schwetye KE, Spinner M, Esparza TJ, Stocchetti N, Zipfel GJ, Holtzman DM. Science, August 29, 2008.
Click here for abstract
Link to article in Time Magazine, NY Times, MSNBC, The Washington Post
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2008-08-07
Microdialysis proves that injected Vitamin C may help to shrinks tumours
US researchers have found that giving mice with rapidly spreading ovarian, pancreatic, and brain cancers high "pharmacologic " dose injections of vitamin C, caused the tumors to shrink and their growth to slow down by as much as 50 per cent.
The study was the work of researchers at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and was published online ahead of print on 4th August in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS .
Vitamin C is an essential nutrient that is commonly regarded as an antioxidant, wrote the researchers. But in this study, using 43 cancer and 5 normal cell lines in the laboratory, they showed that at high pharmacologic doses it behaved like a a prooxidant, generating hydrogen peroxide and producing an anticancer effect that killed up to 75 per cent of cancer cells without adversely affecting normal cells.
By using microdialysis sampling in mice with brain cancer, the researchers showed that a single pharmacologic dose of vitamin C sustained the same prooxidant effect inside the tumors but not in the bloodstream.
The researchers also showed it was possible to achieve similar pharmacologic concentrations intravenously in humans, although they did not test the effect on tumors in humans. There are plans to trial vitamin C as a pharmacological cancer treatment in humans.
According to the researchers "These data suggest that ascorbate as a prodrug may have benefits in cancers with poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options."
"Pharmacologic doses of ascorbate act as a prooxidant and decrease growth of aggressive tumor xenografts in mice." Qi Chen, Michael Graham Espey, Andrew Y. Sun, Chaya Pooput, Kenneth L. Kirk, Murali C. Krishna, Deena Beneda Khosh, Jeanne Drisko, and Mark Levine. PNAS Published ahead of print August 4, 2008.
Click here for Abstract.
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2008-08-05
CMA signs new distribution agreement in Croatia
We are proud to have signed a new distribution and partnership agreement for our clinical products in Croatia. IGA d.o.o. will assume the exlusive representation of CMA's clinical products as well as other leading niche products in the Medical Device Sector. IGA specializes in state-of-the-art products that bring advances to daily practises around the Balkans and improves the quality of life for patients.
IGA d.o.o. is managed by Mr Paulo Peronja a master of pharmacy with a history as director for leading medical device companies as well as hospital management. The company supplies a high level of services and knowledge through marketing, sales and after-sales. Activities include continuous education and service to its customers, being a respected partner to the Health Care Community on the Balkans.
For more info and contact details, please see distributors
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2008-07-30
CMA signs new strategic partnership agreements in UK, Ireland and South Korea
We are very happy to have signed new distribution and partnership agreements for our clinical products on the UK, Irish and South Korean markets. Effective August 1, Prospect Diagnostics will assume the exclusive responsibilty for CMA's clinical product line in the UK and Ireland. In South Korea, DiaSense will assume the exclusive responsibilty for CMA's clinical products following the Korean Healthcare regsitration process.
Prospect Diagnostics Ltd has been active and influential in the ‘point of care‘ (POC) sector since its origination in 1992. Representing several leading medical device and in-vitro diagnostics manufacturers from across Europe, its experienced customer care team provides comprehensive sales, service and technical support to customers throughout the UK.The company developed in association with HemoCue Ltd, a world leader in POC analysis and currently provides UK logistics and service support for HemoCue’s haemoglobin, glucose and urine albumin analysers. Its portfolio also includes a range of peripheral products specifically designed to meet the needs of POC coordinators and practitioners. These include quality control material (QC), external quality assessment (EQA) programmes, Immunoassays, safety lancets and multipurpose wipes.
DiaSense Korea Co. Ltd. is a leading healthcare solution provider that supplies high-quality diagnostic products for patients and professional healthcare in South Korea. DiaSense was founded in 2004 by ByoungIk Choi, with over 20 years of experience working for companies like Boehringer Mannheim, Korea Green Cross, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics and Bayer in Korea.
For more info and contact details, please see distributors
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2008-05-23
Dipylon Medical completes first successful clinical study
CMA's affiliate company Dipylon Medical AB have recetly completed a very successful study led by Associate Professor Jan Liska and Professor Anders Franco-Cereceda of the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm. This was the first clinical study using the CE-marked Dipylon Cardiac Catheter. The catheter was used in 15 patients undergoing routine CABG surgery at the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm. The study proved that the system is able to accurately measure the concentration of lactate, glucose and other metabolites in the Coronary Sinus. The catheter was easy to insert and use. No adverse events occurred.
A follow-up study of 15 higher-risk patients has recently been started and is expected to be completed in September 2008.
For more information, contact
Henrik Falkén, Managing Director of Dipylon Medical.
Mĺns Alfvén, Vice President Marketing & Sales.
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2008-05-23
US Air Force uses Microdialysis in break-through kidney studies
According to the reseachers at the Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, this study is the first report in the literature of renal microdialysis data with the concurrent, real-time capability of the CMA 600 Microdialysis Analyzer. In addition to proving the feasibility of laparoscopic monitoring with this technique, the research team sought to identify any changes of interstitial metabolite concentrations that potentially could serve as real-time ischemic markers.
Microdialysis probes were laparoscopically positioned into the renal cortex of 6 pigs. The renal artery was occluded with a Satinsky clamp for and microdialysis samples were collected every 30 minutes during the ischemic and 3-hour post-ischemic period. The samples were analyzed for glucose, lactate, pyruvate, glutamate, urea, and glycerol concentrations with the CMA 600 Microdialysis Analyzer.
Results: Glucose and pyruvate concentrations significantly declined (p=0.01, 0.05 respectively) while lactate and glycerol concentrations significantly increased during ischemia (p=<0.01, <0.01 respectively). Glutamate increased to 2.5 times the baseline concentration (p<0.01) at one hour of ischemia and subsequently declined during ischemia. The lactate/pyruvate ratio increased sharply during ischemia and returned to baseline within one hour post-ischemia.
The researchers concluded that Microdialysis can accurately measure minute real-time changes in the renal interstitial environment due to ischemia not detected with serum studies. The local changes may be correlated with ischemic times to predict tissue preservation in future studies.
For more info, please read mdmanuscript.pdf
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2008-05-22
New clinical case report - Early detection of post transplant complications
“Microdialysis can help to diagnose rejection at the very early stage when there are no clinical signs of rejection”
So far the golden standard for diagnosis of liver graft rejection is liver biopsy based on clinical symptoms. According to clinical studies at the Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden, it seems that microdialysis can help to diagnose rejection at the very early stage when there are no clinical signs of rejection. It is believed that by only slight increase in immunosuppression at that time the rejection can be reversed and standard rejection treatment with high doses of steroids can be avoided.
According to the case report, microdialysis detected a liver rejection was detected 72 hours before clinical signs become evident. The hypothesis of the study is that post-transplant glycerol release followed by clinical signs of liver rejection, could be a result of cell membrane injury mediated by cellular rejection. Similar mechanism could take place also during cholangitis, where the damage to the cell starts from the cellmembrane due to inflammatory reaction.
For more info see the case report Case report 5.pdf
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2008-05-21
New findings by using Microdialysis to assess the therapeutic effects of hypothermia and hemicraniectomy in crticially
ill patients
Large hemispheric stroke remains a challenge to neurointensive care treatment as its natural course bears a high risk of developing fatal brain oedema. Common treatment strategies include hypothermia and hemicraniectomy. Recent randomized trials have demonstrated a clear benefit of hemicraniectomy versus conservative treatment
A German research team applied cerebral microdialysis in 24 patients suffering from large, space-occupying MCA infarcts undergoing moderate hypothermia, hemicraniectomy, or conservative intensive care treatment. The objective of the study was to analyze the effect of various treatment strategies on the average concentrations of glutamate, glycerol, lactate, and pyruvate in the ECF of the presumed penumbra zone adjacent to the infarct core.
The CMA70 Bolt Catheter was introduced together with a Codman ICP device into an area with perfusion deficit but outside the infarct core as predicted by MRI. Patients treated with hypothermia were cooled down to 33C within using the CoolGard system from Alsius.
The Microdialysis catheter detected that average glutamate concentrations in patients treated with hemicraniectomy and hypothermia were significantly lower than in conservatively treated patients. Glycerol concentration was significantly reduced by hypothermia and hemicraniectomy as compared to conservatively treated patients. The L/P-ratio was more reduced by hypothermia than in the other groups.
In summary, Microdialysis has proven to be useful to demonstrate the beneficial therapeutic effect of hypothermia and hemicraniectomy in severely ill-stroke patients.
Published in the April 2008 issue of Neurocrit Care. Berger C et al. Department of Neurology, University of Heidelberg, Germany
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2008-05-20
Bibliography on Microdialysis in Neurointensive care and clinical Neuro research
There are today around 12.000 publications on Microdialysis. Of these, almost 2.000 deal with clinical Microdialysis that are listed in the clinical bibliography on this website under "Clinical Applications". As the bibliography is continuously growing we have decided to split it into specific application areas. The first one to view is the Neuro application bibliography.
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2008-04-15
New microdialysis catalogue for basic and advanced research
CMA is proud to publish the industrys most complete and comprehensive catalogue for basic and advanced microdialysis research.
To order your exclusive copy, contact yor local sales representative or email cma@microdialysis.se To view (PDF 7Mb)
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2008-04-14
Free Microdialysis pictures available for publications and presentations
Free images for download are now avaialble again for publications and presentations. The database will be continuously updated following the many customer requests. Click here
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2008-04-14
Microdialysis helps researchers close in on origins of Alzheimer's plaques
The ability of brain cells to take in substances from their surface is essential to the production of a key ingredient in Alzheimer's brain plaques, neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have learned.
The researchers used a drug to shut down the intake process, known as endocytosis, in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. The change led to a 70 percent drop in levels of amyloid beta, the protein fragment that clumps together to form Alzheimer's plaques. Importantly, they also found that endocytosis' ability to increase amyloid beta was coupled to normal nerve cell communication called synaptic activity.
The researchers decided to test both endocytosis and brain cell activity by using microdialysis to monitor the results. In addition to allowing repeated sampling of the amyloid beta levels in the brains of live mice, the approach allowed the researchers to introduce drugs that reduce endocytosis and alter communication between brain cells.
The results appear in the April 10 issue of Neuron. For more info, see: http://mednews.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/11503.html
CMA congratulates the research team in St. Louis!
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2008-04-10
New clinical application note: Flow chart for monitoring free flaps in Aarhus, Denmark
Since 1998, microdialysis has been the standard procedure for surveillance of all free flaps at the Department of Plastic Surgery, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
The clinicans in Aarhus analyze glucose, lactate, pyruvate and glycerol every half hour for the first 24 hours
and with longer intervals until removal of the catheter after 5 days. Glucose, lactate and glycerol are the main
metabolites of significance and are used as alarms for early detection of ischemia and limits for reoperation.
To read the new application note 10: PDF
Microdialysis has proven to have several advantages compared to other monitoring techniques: objective measurements, different curves for venous and arterial thrombosis and early diagnosis. It is a clinically feasible and sensitive monitoring method for all kinds of microvascular flaps, especially for those in which clinical observation is difficult or impossible. Several centers in Europe are currently using Microdialysis on a clinical routine basis. By using Microdialysis for postoperative monitoring, total costs of healthcare can potentially be significantly reduced.
For additional info, read the application note 7: PDF
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2008-04-07
CMA receives full clearance in Brazil
The National Health Surveillance Agency ( Anvisa), the regulatory body of Brazil, has now approved the full Microdialysis system for use in critical care.
Brazil has extremely high incidence rates of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The region of Sao Paulo reports TBI rates which are double in comparison to developed countries. In Sao Paulo alone, TBI's account for more than 57,000 deaths per year. A study from Salvador City, Brazil, describes that the typical victims of TBI are young males (83%) and the most common cause are road traffic injuries (41%) and violence (25%).
Microdialysis offers unique opportunities to monitor and optimize the treatment of neurocriticial care. For more info, please contact our Brazilian distributor, Zeiki Medical Ltd, www.zeiki.com.br
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2008-03-28
A two-day international neurosurgery conference
Under the auspices of Oman Neurosurgical Society and the Department of Neurosurgery, Khoula Hospital at Institute of Health Sciences, Wattayah, an international neurosurgery conference was concluded on Thursday .
Three scientific sessions on meningioma and skull base, spine and cranial lesions were conducted on the concluding day. Several topics including spondylolisthesis, neuroendoscopy, brain abscess, microdialysis* and the new trends in surgical procedures were discussed at the conference.
Dr SD Lad, Chairman, Conference Organising Committee and Senior Consultant and Head of Department of Neurosurgery, Khoula Hospital, said the two-day conference deliberated on tumours, neuronavigation, paediatric neurosurgery, vascular neurosurgery, head injuries and radiation therapy.
Sixteen reputed neurosurgeons from around the world participated in the conference, including from Germany, India, Egypt, China, Sweden. More than 320 delegates from the Sultanate, including medical and paramedical personnel attended the conference.
Oman Tribune
*The delgate from Sweden was Prof Carl-Henrik Nordström from Lund University Hospital.
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2008-03-11
CMA strengthens its international sales team.
Following the global success of Microdialysis, CMA is proud to strengthen the sales team with a super-female-trio.
Carma Connelly will be joining CMA’s US subsidiary and take on the role as Sales Representative for the West Coast region. We’re very pleased to welcome Carma back to CMA following a few years of successful sabbatical at another Swedish biomedical company.
Rada Lempert has extended her duties within CMA and taken on the role as acting Vice President Sales for the European and Asian markets. Mrs. Lempert brings in years of experience from successful Swedish medical device companies and from the contract research industry.
Karin Peterson has joined CMA as Area Sales Manager for Sweden, Norway and Finland with responsibility for the clinical products and solutions. Karin joins CMA following a successful career with at ProstaLund, a Swedish medical device company with HQ in Lund.
CMA strives to be an equal employer and admits that all the new hires were females. However, the three ladies had such excellent track records so they simply outperformed the male candidates in the hiring process this time.
To contact our latest hires, simply email them writing first.lastname@microdialysis.se or call the switch board see distributors
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2008-03-01
Immediate success for CMA’s new IView™ catheter
CMA's new microdialysis catheter, the IView™, enables continuous intravascular monitoring in blood. The catheter has received great interest from many European centers. During its first six months, the catheter has been sold to several major hospitals and data from the first clinical study has been completed at the University Hospital in Linköping, Sweden.
The IView™ catheter is successfully used by both physicians and researchers, for measuring a variety of substances including metabolites and other small molecules. Particular interest has been shown in using IView for glucose monitoring in Intensive Care Units.
The product is addressing an unmet need within both clinical and research applications, where frequent sampling of blood has been a burden both for patients and staff. The IView™ catheter, is built on a unique, high-performance 20 kDa membrane, which can be used for up to 3 days in blood. It's simply applied through a standard peripheral venous catheter and is CE-approved to be used with CMA' complete offering of pumps, analyzers and accessories. The IView catheter is the first step towards a complete system for continuous glucose monitoring.
Read more about the Linköping study
Read more about IView
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2008-01-31
New Cardiac Catheter receives CE-approval
CMA's affiliate company Dipylon Medical AB has been successfully awarded with the CE-mark for the new Dipylon Cardiac Catheter. Dipylon's unique catheter system offers possibilities to monitor the metabolic status of the heart and is intended for intra- and post-operative use. The catheter is introduced percutaneoulsy into Vena Jugularis and guided to the Coronary Sinus, to offer continuous and global metabolic measurements of the heart muscle. The first patients are currently being monitored at the Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden.
More than 60,000 patients die each year due to complications following open-heart surgery. More than 50% of these deaths are caused by myocardial infarction following an ischemic event. In numerous studies, early detection of such events has proven to be the best way of reducing in-hospital and long-term cardiac morbidity and mortalit y.
Dipylon Medical’s goal is to reduce myocardial infarction mortality rates with 50% by introducing a novel diagnostic system for cardiac monitoring. The Dipylon Cardiac Catheter is a highly sensitive system used to detect upcoming complications much earlier than conventional devices, enabling more rapid lifesaving interventions.
For more information, contact Henrik Falkén, Managing Director of Dipylon Medical henrik.falken@dipylonmedical.se
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