Integra launches CRW Precision Arc Stereotactic System for neurosurgery

Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (Nasdaq:IART) announced today the launch of the CRW Precision™ Arc Stereotactic System, a multi-purpose stereotactic system used for localizing intra-cranial targets and precisely directing instruments to the target in cases such as brain biopsy, tumor resection, and Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgeries. Stereotactic surgery is an important and intrinsic practice in neurosurgery and is widely used throughout the world. Integra is featuring the CRW Precision™ Arc Stereotactic System at the 2010 Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California, October 16-21, 2010.

The CRW® stereotactic system was first developed in 1988 and the CRW Precision™ Arc Stereotactic System is a major update to the previous generations of CRW^® Arc systems. Today's CRW Precision™ Arc Stereotactic System incorporates decades of stereotactic engineering expertise and improvements that greatly enhance its functionality. After listening to feedback from neurosurgeons throughout the world, Integra's goal was to create an easier to use CRW^® system while maintaining versatility and accuracy. The result is a system that can be set-up and ready to use in four easy steps, while being accurate to +/- 0.5mm at all its settings.

"From start to finish, the features of the CRW Precision™ stereotactic system are designed to reduce time in the operating room and demonstrate Integra's ongoing commitment to limit uncertainty for our customers, while providing neurosurgeons with the most innovative technology," said Frank Guglielmo, Vice President of Marketing, Integra Neurosurgery.

Deep Brain Stimulation, one of the most recent common applications of stereotactic frames, is often used in the treatment of essential tremor, Parkinson's Disease, and dystonia. When medication is ineffective, severe movement disorders may respond to Deep Brain Surgery (DBS), which places precisely located implantable electrodes within the brain to deliver electrical impulses to counteract the tremors. The electrodes are connected to a neurostimulator, or "pacemaker," which is implanted under the patient's collarbone. Similar stereotactic targeting is also used when taking biopsies of tumors in select regions of the brain or planning the resection of tumors.