PuraCath Medical Presents New Research Data during 36th Annual Dialysis Conference
Company presents study on the e
ffectiveness of next-generation version of the
FireFly
Peritoneal Dialysis Connector Disinfecting System
Seattle, Washington (February 29, 2016) – PuraCath Medical, an emerging company in the development of technologies to reduce infections in patients with intravascular and peritoneal catheters, announced today that it presented data on its next generation version of the FireFlyPeritoneal Dialysis (PD) Connector Disinfecting System during the 36th Annual Dialysis Conference held in Seattle, Washington. The study, entitled “ Effectiveness of UV Light in the Disinfection of Peritoneal Dialysis Catheter Connections
” demonstrated the ability of the 2nd generation of the company’s PD device to achieve a greater than 4-log reduction in microorganisms which are commonly associated with peritonitis in patients receiving peritoneal dialysis. The Annual Dialysis Conference represents the world’s largest multidisciplinary meeting on dialysis attracting over 1,400 participants from 40 countries.
“Peritonitis remains a significant risk for patients receiving PD and is the leading cause of technique failure and transfer to hemodialysis,” stated Nasser Hebah, MD, FNKF, FASN, Senior Medical Advisor to PuraCath Medical and an expert in PD outcomes and quality improvement. “I am enthusiastic about PuraCath Medical’s efforts and believe their approach to reducing air and touch contamination will reduce infection risk in patients at the time of performing their PD exchanges.”
“The results of this study validate the effectiveness of the 2 nd generation version of the FireFly PD Connector Disinfecting System, which represents an even more user friendly version of our technology,” said Julia Rasooly, PuraCath Medical’s CEO. “Since we recognize the value and the lifestyle convenience peritoneal dialysis therapy offers to patients, we continue to make incremental improvements to our technology in order to enhance PD patient’s quality of life and provide an easy-to-use, patient friendly option to reducing bacterial and fungal contamination during PD exchanges.”
“The FireFly PD Connector Disinfecting System recently received U.S. Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance and is intended for use by patients as a method of controlling air and touch contamination while performing PD exchanges. PuraCath Medical is currently offering the device for sale via a limited market release.
What is Peritoneal Dialysis?
Peritoneal dialysis is a home-based dialysis therapy that offers patients a more flexible and physiologically smoother dialysis option. Unlike hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis uses a patient’s peritoneal membrane to remove toxins and excess fluid from the patient. Peritoneal dialysis therapy permits patients to have a more regular diet and more flexible treatment times, improving their quality of life. Currently there are over 45,000 peritoneal dialysis patients in the U.S. with the number of patients on this therapy increasing over the past several years. The most common complications from peritoneal dialysis include infection around the catheter site or infection of the lining of the abdominal wall (peritonitis).
About PuraCath Medical
PuraCath Medical, a company based in San Francisco, CA, is dedicated to improving the quality of life of dialysis patients by reducing infections related to peritoneal dialysis (PD) and saving time through improved, simplified connections of PD catheters. The Company is utilizing their technology platform, which was spun out of Stanford University, to develop novel, easy-to-use technologies designed to reduce the risk of infections in patients with intravascular and peritoneal catheters in order to decrease infection-related hospitalizations and their associated costs.
For more information on PuraCath Medical, please visit www.puracath.com.
