Cincinnati, OH – April 2, 2015 – Ethicon*, a leading global provider of medical devices, today announced positive new data from a peer-reviewed paper. Ethicon’s redesigned HARMONIC FOCUS®+ provides vessel seal strengths equivalent to Covidien’s LigaSure™ Small Jaw while producing lower tissue temperatures and less thermal damage, critical when working near nerves, through an enhanced dissection capability, improving the already meticulous dissection standards for which HARMONIC® ultrasonic technology is known.
The peer-reviewed paper, Ex vivo and in vivo evaluation of an ultrasonic device for precise dissection, coagulation, and transection.1 reveals the results of a study undertaken to compare the dissection capabilities of Ethicon’s HARMONIC FOCUS®+ Shears with Adaptive Tissue Technology (HARMONIC FOCUS®+) to Covidien’s LigaSure™ Small Jaw, an advanced bipolar device.
“When performing surgeries requiring precise hemostasis, such as thyroidectomy, surgeons are faced with the challenge of providing an efficient method of dissection that will not cause unintended injury to critical structures, such as nerves,” said Joseph F Amaral, MD, Vice President, Surgical Science, Chief Scientific Officer, Ethicon. “In the study sponsored by Ethicon, we demonstrate that the improvements in HARMONIC FOCUS®+ produce vessel seal strengths equivalent to advance bipolar devices, as well as lower tissue temperatures and less thermal damage.
Last year, Ethicon introduced the HARMONIC FOCUS®+ Shears with Adaptive Tissue Technology to improve procedural efficiency in complex cases where careful dissection and frequent sealing are required, providing a 19% slimmer profile design for improved visualization and precision in narrow spaces,2 and 49% faster sealing and transection at the tip.3
“Ethicon is setting new standards in sealing and dissection capabilities with this innovative new design for HARMONIC FOCUS®+,” said Rob Laird, Vice President, Research & Development, Ethicon. “Using feedback from surgeons, we improved an already impressive medical device to deliver optimal performance, even in the most challenging cases.”
Building on our legacy of advancing surgical care, Ethicon first introduced the world to HARMONIC ultrasonic technology and its precise dissection capability in 1998 with the release of the HARMONIC® Scalpel Shears. Ethicon launched its flagship energy device, HARMONIC® ACE+7 Shears with Advanced Hemostasis, the first purely ultrasonic device with a 7mm sealing indication last year. The breakthrough HARMONIC® ACE+7 combines the precision and multi-functionality expected of HARMONIC® technology with reliable sealing for large vessels, allowing surgeons to stay focused on the procedure without the distraction of instrument exchanges.
Ethicon is the proven leader in advanced energy with more than 17 million procedures performed worldwide4, and the most complete advanced energy portfolio for open and laparoscopic procedures across multiple surgical specialties. Through innovation at every touchpoint from ideation to the surgeon’s hand, Ethicon offers the broadest range of ultrasonic energy devices using HARMONIC® technology and advanced bipolar energy devices employing our distinct ENSEAL® technology. Click here to learn more.
About Ethicon*
From creating the first sutures, to revolutionizing surgery with minimally invasive procedures, Ethicon has made significant contributions to surgery for nearly 60 years. Our continuing dedication to Shape the Future of Surgery is built on our commitment to help address the world’s most pressing health care issues, and improve and save more lives. Through Ethicon’s surgical technologies and solutions including sutures, staplers, energy devices, trocars and hemostats and our commitment to treat serious medical conditions like obesity and cancer worldwide, we deliver innovation to make a life-changing impact. Learn more at www.ethicon.com, and follow us on Twitter @Ethicon.
###
Ethicon Worldwide Communications Contacts:
Michelle Parker
Office: 513-337-3590
mparker5@its.jnj.com
Ann Leibson
Office: 513 337-8180
aleibso@its.jnj.com
* Ethicon represents the products and services of Ethicon, Inc., Ethicon Endo-Surgery, LLC and certain of their affiliates. Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. is the legal manufacturer of HARMONIC FOCUS®+ Shears with Adaptive Tissue Technology.
1 Bertke, BD, Scoggins, PJ, Welling, AL, et al. Ex vivo and in vivo evaluation of an ultrasonic device for precise dissection, coagulation, and transection. Medical Devices: Evidence and Research 7 (2014): 263-271. http://www.dovepress.com/getfile.php?fileID=22931
2 Device measurements based on a metrology study (profile is clamp arm + pad + blade area [.0079 sq in vs .0098 sq in]).
3 Versus HARMONIC FOCUS Shears without Adaptive Tissue Technology, as exhibited in a benchtop study performed with devices on porcine tissue (median transection time of 2.22 sec vs 4.41 sec for tip cuts on thin tissue, P =.045).
4 Internal sales data as of June 10, 2013.