Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology

BlueArc Titan creates a unified directory structure across file system types enabling global data access to any node or mount-point. This allows House to manage virtual storage pools and file systems without affecting how CCIR users access their files. House has also leveraged the Titan's flexible file virtualization capabilities to allow for direct transfer of large data sets from the CCIR's multiple biomedical imaging scanners directly to shared file systems. Additionally, CCIR is using Titan's replication capabilities to duplicate the virtual machines over to a secondary site for simplified disaster recovery purposes.

The Titan family of storage solutions delivers world-record performance and scales to 4 petabytes of tiered Fibre Channel or SATA storage in a single namespace and features a virtualization framework that simplifies the integration of storage into a consolidated server environment. Multi protocol support for both block- and file-level application data including iSCSI and NFS connectivity standards enables Titan to create seamless links between virtual storage file systems and virtual storage pools with thin provisioning for virtual machines.

About BlueArc

BlueArc is a leading provider of high-performance unified network storage systems to enterprise markets, as well as data-intensive markets, such as electronic discovery, entertainment, federal government, higher education, Internet services, oil and gas and life sciences. Our products support both network attached storage, or NAS, and storage area network, or SAN, services on a converged network storage platform.

We enable companies to expand the ways they explore, discover, research, create, process and innovate in data-intensive environments. Our products replace complex and performance-limited products with high performance, scalable and easy to use systems capable of handling the most data-intensive applications and environments. Further, we believe that our energy efficient design and our products' ability to consolidate legacy storage infrastructures, dramatically increases storage utilization rates and reduces our customers' total cost of ownership. Information about BlueArc solutions and services can be found at http://www.bluearc.com/.

*Washington University in St. Louis is a not-for-profit institution and does not endorse commercial products.

Contact:
Louis Gray
BlueArc Corporation
(408) 576-6684
Email Contact

SOURCE: BlueArc

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=56407D26347AD716

DVT occurs when a large blood clot (thrombus) forms in a vein deep in the body. This blockage reduces or stops the flow of blood through the vein. If left untreated, the blockage can cause swelling, pain and eventual damage to the vein and surrounding tissues. In the most critical cases, part of the clot can break away and travel to the lungs, resulting in a Pulmonary Embolism which is the third leading cause of death in cardiovascular disease, behind heart attack and stroke.

Recent efforts by the U.S. Surgeon General and a number of medical associations and patient advocacy groups have focused on raising awareness of DVT, its effects and new treatment options. And now the National Institutes of Health is providing over $8 million in the support of the ATTRACT trial (Acute Venous Thrombosis: Thrombus Removal With Adjunctive Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis) to quantify the benefits of a new, more aggressive treatment approach: rapid pharmacomechanical clot removal. Dr. Suresh Vedantham, M.D., associate professor at the Washington University School of Medicine's Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology in St. Louis, Mo., leads the study which will include at least 28 U.S. clinical centers and will enroll 692 patients.

A key element of this clot-busting therapy is the AngioJet Rheolytic Thrombectomy System, which is used in a minimally invasive cardiovascular procedure and guided directly to the clot through the patient's large vessels.

"Traditional therapies have focused on stabilizing the growth of the thrombus (clot) and have done little to actually resolve the blocked circulation," said Bob Dutcher, president of MEDRAD Interventional/Possis. "Until recently, there was little a physician could do to rapidly restore the blood flow and address the pain and swelling and possible serious complications of DVT," said Dutcher.

The AngioJet System is the only thrombectomy device currently cleared by the FDA for removing clot from deep veins, and is a treatment that will be used in the ATTRACT trial to rapidly restore circulation to DVT patients.

"New treatments which use a combination of AngioJet thrombectomy and a clot-dissolving medication have shown rapid resolution of symptoms and a reduction in hospitalization time and expense. We expect the ATTRACT trial to verify that the therapy which quickly removes the clot and restores blood flow will have a durable benefit in reducing the long-term damage and debilitation which often results from DVT," said Dutcher.

Media advisory

Current activity by the Surgeon General's office and other medical organizations has raised the public's interest in DVT, a serious health problem.

For a local perspective on what resources are available and how DVT is treated in your area, please contact Jules Fisher at 763-450-8011 to identify those physicians who treat this disease and can further explain the symptoms, its risk factors and treatment options.

About MEDRAD Interventional/Possis

Possis Medical, a pioneer in the field of thrombus removal, has recently merged with MEDRAD, the leader in diagnostic and interventional contrast injection. Together, they have formed MEDRAD Interventional / Possis, a division of MEDRAD, INC., focused on advancing interventional medicine through research and innovation. With manufacturing facilities in both Minneapolis, MN and Pittsburgh, PA, MEDRAD Interventional / Possis manufactures and markets segment-leading medical devices such as AngioJet Thrombectomy Systems, MEDRAD Avanta(R) Fluid Management Injector Systems, Mark V ProVis(R) Angiographic Contrast Injectors, FETCH(R) Aspiration Catheters and the SafeSeal(R) Hemostasis Patch.

MEDRAD, INC. is an affiliate of Bayer AG. More company information is available at www.medrad.com. The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of healthcare, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subsidiary of Bayer AG, is one of the world's leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Diabetes Care and Pharmaceuticals divisions. The pharmaceuticals business operates under the name Bayer Schering Pharma AG. Bayer HealthCare's aim is to discover and manufacture products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Find more information at www.bayerhealthcare.com.

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements

Certain statements in this press release that are neither reported financial results nor other historical information are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, statements that are predictions of or indicate future events, trends, plans or objectives. Undue reliance should not be placed on such statements because, by their nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can be affected by other factors that could cause actual results and MEDRAD's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. MEDRAD, INC. undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information or future events or circumstances or otherwise.

SOURCE: MEDRAD Interventional/Possis

MEDRAD Interventional/Possis 
Jules L. Fisher, 763-450-8011 
Vice President 
Jules.Fisher@possis.com

ATTRACT (Acute Venous Thrombosis: Thrombus Removal With Adjunctive Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis) is a multicenter, randomized trial "that will definitively determine if the newest clot-busting treatment (pharmacomechanical catheter-directed thrombolysis or PCDT) prevents post- thrombotic syndrome in patients with DVT," said Vedantham. PCDT combines the use of a clot-dissolving drug with a catheter-mounted miniature clot removal device, allowing an interventional radiologist to break up the clot and remove it from the vein, restoring blood flow. "PTS is a serious complication of DVT that is under recognized and potentially preventable if we are able to dissolve the clots early, before permanent damage to the vein occurs," he noted. "Established PTS is a lifelong, irreversible condition for which there are no consistently effective treatments. Its prevention is extremely important; however, physicians have historically neglected the prevention of PTS," said Vedantham. "The groundbreaking combination of clot-busting drugs with innovative device technology -- pioneered by interventional radiologists -- now enables clot removal in a safer and more efficient manner, often in a single procedure session. These advances will greatly increase the use of interventional DVT treatments," added Vedantham.

"This research is critical. The Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation initiated a DVT research consensus panel four years ago, bringing together clinicians and scientists from all disciplines and from all settings -- academia, private practice, government and industry -- and determining the need for the ATTRACT trial," said Michael Darcy, M.D., chair of the board of directors for SIR Foundation, a scientific foundation dedicated to fostering research and education in interventional radiology. The SIR Foundation has been a critical partner in developing the ATTRACT trial, helping to coordinate the site selection process and partnering with the ATTRACT research team to conduct the trial, said Vedantham.

DVT is the formation of a blood clot, known as a thrombus, in a deep leg vein. This can be a very serious condition that often causes permanent damage to the leg, known as post-thrombotic syndrome. Early treatment with blood thinners is important to prevent a life-threatening pulmonary embolism, but blood thinners do not dissolve the existing clot, which remains in the leg. While many patients' clots will slowly dissolve over time, often the vein wall and vein valves become irreversibly damaged in the process. "PTS develops as a direct result of having the blood clot stay in the vein. The blood clot continues to block the vein and permanently damages its one-way valves, resulting in the pooling of blood in the leg, chronic leg pain, swelling and fatigue and sometimes skin ulcers. It's logical that immediate clot removal will prevent PTS," said Vedantham.

The ATTRACT trial -- the first NIH-funded multicenter, randomized trial of any interventional DVT therapy -- will begin later this year. The trial will assess the presence and severity of PTS, quality of life, relief of pain and swelling, safety and costs. At least 28 U.S. clinical centers will enroll 692 patients and monitor their health for two years, said Vedantham, who is chair of the DVT Research Committee of SIR's Venous Forum and vice chair of the Venous Disease Coalition. The Society of Interventional Radiology is a member of the Venous Disease Coalition.

About the Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation

SIR Foundation is a scientific foundation dedicated to fostering research and education in interventional radiology for the purposes of advancing scientific knowledge, increasing the number of skilled investigators in interventional radiology and developing innovative therapies that lead to improved patient care and quality of life.

Interventional radiologists are vascular experts who invented angioplasty and the catheter-delivered stent, which were first used in the legs to treat peripheral arterial disease. They provide vascular disease management and specialize in minimally invasive treatments. Visit www.SIRfoundation.org.

SOURCE Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation

http://www.sirweb.org/