Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT) Technology for Treating Open-Angle Glaucoma to be Featured on the Discovery Channel

I received the following press release from Lumenis, that it’s SLT technology was going to be featured on the Discovery Channel’s Health Heroes program during the September 24-27, 2010 period. It got me thinking about how I have always been a believer that SLT is a superior first option for treating open-angle glaucoma, and that this announcement would give me the opportunity to reiterate this again in my online Journal.

The announcement also gives me the opportunity to provide you with links to my previous writings on the subject of treating glaucoma, which you can find following the news release.


Lumenis Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT) Technology to be featured on the Discovery Channel, highlighting its significant clinical benefits to glaucoma patients worldwide

Lumenis Ltd. one of the world's largest medical laser companies and a global developer, manufacturer and seller of laser, light-based and radiofrequency devices for ophthalmic, aesthetic, and surgical applications, announced today that its patented SLT technology for managing open-angle glaucoma will be featured on the Discovery Channel program, Health Heroes, during September 24-27, 2010.

“We are very excited that Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT), a breakthrough technology for managing open-angle glaucoma that our company developed and brought to market, is being recognized by the Discovery Channel”, said Dov Ofer, President and CEO of Lumenis. “This validates yet again how this remarkable technology has positively impacted and improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of glaucoma patients worldwide.”



SLT technology was pioneered and introduced to the medical market by Lumenis in 2001, based on the scientific and clinical work of Mark Latina MD and colleagues. It is a safe and non-invasive in-office procedure that effectively reduces eye pressure in patients with open-angle glaucoma -- the most common form of glaucoma. The SLT mechanism of action does not rely on costly medications. Instead, it utilizes an advanced non-thermal energy beam that selectively targets specific melanin-containing cells within the eye. This produces a natural biological response that leads to pressure drop very shortly after the treatment is performed.

“Glaucoma patients worldwide struggle with a debilitating condition that, if not carefully and properly managed, can result in significant vision loss and even blindness,” said Kfir Azoulay who heads Lumenis Vision’s Global Marketing Organization. “SLT offers these patients the benefit of a clinically proven treatment that can halt the progression of the disease and maintain their vision.” Mr. Azoulay also added: “We take immense pride in the fact that our technology has helped preserve the eyesight of hundreds of thousands of glaucoma patients worldwide, and has also reduced their dependency on daily intake of costly medications which also produce detrimental side effects.”

Health Heroes is an exciting program that identifies and explores today's latest medical advances in all areas of health and wellness. Developed through the real life experiences of industry experts, physicians and their patients, this series combines scientific and clinical data with touching story telling, to deliver the best and most accurate information to viewers.

The program boasts interviews with renowned glaucoma specialists and technology experts, among them Jason Bacharach MD, Jorge Alvarado MD, Alan Robin MD, Tom Brunner (President of the Glaucoma Research Foundation), and others.

Editor’s Note: If you missed the program while it was on the air, you can catch it on the Lumenis website.


About Lumenis

Lumenis, one of the world's largest medical laser companies, is a global developer, manufacturer and distributor of laser and light-based devices for surgical, ophthalmic and aesthetic applications, with more than 800 employees worldwide.Lumenis has nearly 250 patents, over 75 FDA clearances, an installed base of over 80,000 systems and presence in over 100 countries. Lumenis endeavors to bring the finest state of the art technology products to the market, fulfilling the highest standards of excellence, quality and reliability, delivering premium value and service to its customers. The name Lumenis is derived from the Latin words meaning "Light of Life" highlighting the light which is the basis of our technologies used to enhance life. For more information about Lumenis and its products, please visit: www.lumenis.com


Articles About the Use of SLT in Treating Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma:

Following are the articles I have written and  posted online on treatments for glaucoma and on the use of SLT, in particular, for treating this disease.

SLT: New Treatment for Glaucoma Becomes Available; Ocular Surgery News, May 15, 2001.

In this column, written for Ocular Surgery News, I interviewed the inventor Mark Latina, of the new laser treatment for glaucoma, selective laser trabecloplasty, and wrote about its application compared to argon laser trabeculoplasty, the then standard of care.

Advances in the Treatment of Glaucoma; Optistock Industry Overview, Fall 2001.

This article was published by Optistock.com as part of an Industry Overview. My piece, on glaucoma, was a comprehensive overview of the then current thoughts on treatment of this significant disease.

An Update on the Use of SLT for Treating Glaucoma, Fall 2006

In this piece, following the 2006 AAO Meeting, I picked up Michael Lachman’s article about SLT becoming a first-line therapy for open-angle glaucoma, which follows closely my thoughts, first published in 2001..

2 Comments:

At 6:42 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Irv,

I was finally able to access your blog after getting back from China! (I guess they block the server which hosts your blog).

Re SLT: we always joke that SLT would have been a leading first-line therapy if Pfizer had launched it instead of Lumenis. Not to belittle Lumenis' significant achievements over the past decade - we simply don't have as deep pockets as our pharma friends.

Best,

Kfir Azoulay

 
At 10:38 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

I'm doing research on Trabeculoplasty. This is a good resource. Thanks for sharing.

Medical Dictionary

 

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