Hansen Medical, Inc., a global leader in intravascular robotics, today announced the completion of the first clinical procedure with the Magellan™ Robotic System in Australia. Interventional radiologists Dr. Gerard Goh and Dr. Jim Koukounaras, assisted by Professor Ken Thomson, performed the procedure at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia.
The Magellan Robotic System was installed in January 2015 in collaboration with Medtel Pty Limited, Hansen Medical's exclusive distribution partner in Australia and New Zealand.
"We are excited to bring the benefits of intravascular robotics to patients and physicians in Australia and New Zealand," said Cary Vance, Hansen Medical President and CEO. "Completion of the first clinical case with Magellan in Australia in partnership with Medtel represents Hansen's commitment to delivering on our global expansion strategy."
Dr. Goh and Dr. Koukounaras performed transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) as their first procedure with Magellan. TACE is a minimally-invasive procedure involving targeted intravascular delivery of chemotherapeutic agents directly to a tumor in the liver. Approximately 175,000 TACE procedures are performed globally every year.
"The Magellan Robotic System allowed us to gain catheter stability in challenging anatomy," said Dr. Goh. "Navigating the tortuous anatomy of the blood vessels supplying the liver would have been extremely challenging by conventional techniques."
"Medtel is pleased to partner with Hansen to install and facilitate the first use of Magellan in Australia at The Alfred Hospital with its world renowned clinicians," said Andrew Lehmann, Managing Director of Medtel Pty Limited. "It is intended that The Alfred will become the first of many reference sites in Australia and New Zealand to deliver the patient and clinician benefits of Magellan Robotic System. We thank Hansen Medical for their role in supporting the installation and training of clinicians."
The Magellan Robotic System is an advanced technology that drives the Magellan Robotic Catheters during endovascular procedures. Magellan is designed to offer procedural predictability, control, and catheter stability to physicians as they remotely navigate the robotic catheter through the vasculature. Magellan's remote workstation allows physicians to navigate through the vasculature while seated away from the radiation field, potentially reducing physicians' radiation exposure and procedural fatigue.
About the Magellan™ Robotic System
Hansen Medical's Magellan Robotic System is intended to be used to facilitate navigation in the peripheral vasculature and subsequently provide a conduit for manual placement of therapeutic devices. The Magellan Robotic System is designed to deliver predictability, control and catheter stability to endovascular procedures. Since its commercial introduction in the U.S. and Europe, the Magellan Robotic System has demonstrated its clinical versatility in many cases in a broad variety of peripheral vascular procedure types in centers across the U.S. and Europe. The Magellan Robotic System offers several important features including:
- Provides predictability, control and catheter stability as a physician navigates a patient's peripheral vasculature and then provides a conduit for manual treatment of vascular disease with standard therapeutic devices.
- Is designed to enable more predictable procedure times and increased case throughput potentially allowing hospitals to improve utilization within their vascular business line.
- Employs an open architecture designed to allow for the subsequent use of many therapeutic devices on the market today.
- Is designed to potentially reduce physician radiation exposure and fatigue by allowing the physician to navigate procedures while seated comfortably at a remote workstation away from the radiation field and without wearing heavy lead as required in conventional endovascular procedures.
- The Magellan 9Fr Robotic Catheter allows for independent, robotic control of the distal tip of two telescoping catheters (an outer Guide and an inner Leader catheter), as well as robotic manipulation of standard guide wires.
- The Magellan 6Fr Robotic Catheter allows for independent robotic control of two separate bend sites on a single catheter, as well as robotic manipulation of standard guide wires. This smaller catheter design may be preferred by certain physicians who prefer a smaller diameter vessel access site, or in procedures in smaller vessels.