Market and Technology Overview

Therus Acoustic Hemostasis System
Despite dramatic advances in the treatment of cardiovascular disease, safe and effective sealing of the arterial access site following transcatheter procedures such as angiography and angioplasty remains a major medical challenge in the over 12 million procedures performed annually.

Manual compression is the most widely used method for achieving puncture site closure and cessation of bleeding. However, it is labor intensive, time and resource consuming and can cause significant patient discomfort and complications. Advancements in vascular access closure devices for sealing the vascular access site have occurred, but currently such devices are used in only 30% of cases owing to concerns about complications, difficulty of use, clinical limitations and cost.

Therus Corporation is addressing these major issues by taking an entirely new approach to vascular access closure. Therus is developing the Therus Acoustic Hemostasis System, an easy-to-use ultrasound device that targets and noninvasively delivers ultrasound energy to the vascular access site to induce sealing in seconds. The approach is independent of the patient's coagulation status and no foreign materials are implanted, unlike current technologies on the market (i.e., plugs and clips), thereby reducing the risk of complications.

Future Applications of Therapeutic Ultrasound
While the Company is pursuing femoral artery sealing, there are numerous other potential clinical applications for therapeutic ultrasound. These applications are being evaluated by AcousTx Corporation, www.acoustxcorp.com, a spinoff company of Therus.