Bronchial Thermoplasty News and Research RSS Feed - Bronchial Thermoplasty News and Research

Bronchial thermoplasty is a bronchoscopic procedure to reduce the mass of airway smooth muscle and attenuate bronchoconstriction. We examined the effect of bronchial thermoplasty on the control of moderate or severe persistent asthma.

AIR2 trial: Alair BT System shows therapy benefits in adults with severe uncontrolled asthma

Five-year data from the Asthma Intervention Research 2 clinical trial presented today demonstrated that the Boston Scientific Corporation Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty System continues to show therapy benefits in adult patients with severe uncontrolled asthma. [More]
New report highlights factors that contribute to asthma

New report highlights factors that contribute to asthma

There is still no cure for asthma, so for 22 million people in the U.S., this chronic disease continues to be a daily burden no matter where they live. But it's not just air pollution they should be worried about. Factors such as pollen, secondhand smoke – even high rates of poverty, a large uninsured population or a high number of ER visits – can be critical signs that certain cities and states are worse for families with asthma. It is especially true for people with severe asthma. [More]
Bronchial thermoplasty helps control severe asthma

Bronchial thermoplasty helps control severe asthma

Nearly 24 million people in this country suffer from asthma. For most of them, avoiding allergens and taking medications help keep their asthma under control. But for a small group with severe persistent asthma, frequent hospital visits tend to be the norm and taking medications and lifestyle changes don't do the trick. Northwestern Memorial Hospital is now using a new procedure called bronchial thermoplasty (BT), the first non-drug therapy approved by the Federal Drug Administration, for patients with severe asthma. [More]
FDA approves Boston Scientific’s S-ICD system to treat sudden cardiac arrest

FDA approves Boston Scientific’s S-ICD system to treat sudden cardiac arrest

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Boston Scientific Corporation regulatory approval for its S-ICD System, the world's first and only commercially available subcutaneous implantable defibrillator (S-ICD) for the treatment of patients at risk for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). [More]
Longer looks: Insurers balk at price of new asthma relief; Despite health law, costs still overwhelming for some patients

Longer looks: Insurers balk at price of new asthma relief; Despite health law, costs still overwhelming for some patients

For two decades, Patricia DiGiusto struggled with severe asthma. Powerful medications and frequent use of her inhaler could not prevent repeated trips to the emergency room. ... Two years ago, Ms. DiGiusto's doctor told her about a new procedure called bronchial thermoplasty, the first non-drug therapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration for patients with severe asthma. [More]
ORMC offers bronchial thermoplasty for severe asthma

ORMC offers bronchial thermoplasty for severe asthma

Doctors at Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) are delivering heat directly to the source to treat patients with severe asthma - a respiratory disease that causes the airways in the lungs to narrow, making it difficult to breathe. [More]

Vanderbilt first medical center in Nashville to offer bronchial thermoplasty for asthma

Hannah Andrews, 23, who has suffered from severe asthma since she was a child, is breathing easier now thanks to a new procedure offered at Vanderbilt known as bronchial thermoplasty. [More]

Boston Scientific lauds private insurance reimbursement coverage for bronchial thermoplasty

Boston Scientific Corporation welcomes a milestone in private insurance reimbursement coverage for bronchial thermoplasty (BT) performed using the Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty System. Minnesota-based HealthPartners and Michigan-based Priority Health recently issued the first public postings of positive insurance coverage policies providing their respective memberships with reimbursement for this novel procedure to treat severe asthma. [More]

CMS acknowledges clinical improvement linked with use of Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty System

Boston Scientific Corporation announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that administers the Medicare program, has acknowledged the substantial clinical improvement associated with the use of the Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty System to perform bronchial thermoplasty for the management of severe asthma. [More]
New bronchial thermoplasty long-term safety data in asthma presented at ATS annual meeting

New bronchial thermoplasty long-term safety data in asthma presented at ATS annual meeting

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced long-term safety data from the Research in Severe Asthma (RISA) Trial, which demonstrated the maintenance of stable lung function and the absence of clinical complications over a five-year period in patients with severe refractory asthma treated with its Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty System. [More]

National survey reveals severe asthmatics need more treatment options

Today on World Asthma Day 2011, despite decades of progress on the management and control of asthma – more research, better understanding and powerful treatments – millions of people with severe asthma are still living with serious, frequent, life-threatening symptoms. [More]

Bronchial thermoplasty helps asthma patients stop taking LABAs

If you have severe persistent asthma, bronchial thermoplasty (BT) may help you stop taking long-acting beta2-agonists (LABAs) according to a new study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology annual meeting in Phoenix, Nov. 11-16. This novel procedure delivers thermal energy to the airway wall to reduce airway constriction. [More]
Tomophase to commercialize OCT Imaging System for pulmonary applications with QTDP award

Tomophase to commercialize OCT Imaging System for pulmonary applications with QTDP award

Tomophase Corporation, a leading developer of minimally invasive optical coherence tomography (OCT) tissue imaging devices, announced that it has received an award from the Departments of the Treasury and Health and Human Services for the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP.) [More]

Asthmatx presents 2-year results from AIR2 Trial of bronchial thermoplasty in severe asthma

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced that its newly acquired subsidiary, Asthmatx, Inc., presented two-year results from the Asthma Intervention Research 2 (AIR2) Trial demonstrating the long-term safety and effectiveness of bronchial thermoplasty (BT) in adult patients with severe asthma. [More]

Boston Scientific announces completion of Asthmatx acquisition

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced the completion of its acquisition of Asthmatx, Inc. of Sunnyvale, California. The transaction follows the definitive agreement announced on September 20. Under the terms of the agreement, Boston Scientific purchased all outstanding Asthmatx shares for a total of $193.5 million. Additional payments of up to $250 million are contingent upon achievement of specified revenue-based criteria through 2019. Asthmatx is now an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Boston Scientific. [More]

Boston Scientific announces acquisition of Asthmatx

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement, under which Boston Scientific will acquire Asthmatx, Inc., a privately held company in Sunnyvale, California. Asthmatx designs, manufactures and markets a less-invasive, catheter-based bronchial thermoplasty procedure for the treatment of severe persistent asthma in the 6 to 8 million patients 18 years and older worldwide whose asthma is not well controlled with drugs (inhaled medications). [More]

AIR Trial demonstrates benefits of BT in asthma patients

Asthmatx Inc., today presented positive five-year data from the Asthma Intervention Research Trial, which evaluated the safety of bronchial thermoplasty with the Alair System. The data demonstrated the absence of clinical complications and the maintenance of stable lung function over a five year period post-BT in patients with moderate to severe asthma. [More]
CVS calls on FDA to suspend use of contaminated rotavirus vaccines

CVS calls on FDA to suspend use of contaminated rotavirus vaccines

On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) convened a panel of experts to review recent findings that rotavirus vaccines given to infants in the U.S., Rotateq, produced by Merck Pharmaceuticals and Rotarix produced by GlaxoSmithKline, are contaminated with DNA from pig viruses PCV1 and PCV2. On March 22nd the FDA Commissioner asked doctors to suspend use of the Rotarix vaccine due to the contamination. Upon additional testing, Rotateq was also found to be contaminated. [More]
Asthmatx announces first U.S. patient treated with BT delivered by Alair System

Asthmatx announces first U.S. patient treated with BT delivered by Alair System

Asthmatx, Inc. reported today that doctors at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., recently treated the first U.S. patient with bronchial thermoplasty (BT) delivered by the Alair® System, the first device-based asthma treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). [More]
CA-BSI can be reduced in children through quality improvement efforts: Study

CA-BSI can be reduced in children through quality improvement efforts: Study

Bloodstream infections associated with catheters can be significantly reduced through quality improvement efforts, possibly leading to better health outcomes and lives saved, decreased stays at the hospital and related costs, according to a new study. [More]