ORLANDO, Fla., March 5, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mazor Robotics (www.mazorrobotics.com), a global leader in the development and distribution of innovative surgical guidance systems for spine and brain surgery, announced today the first Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery performed with its Renaissance® Guidance System to treat patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
On February 23, 2015, Dr. David VanSickle of South Denver Neurosurgery was the first physician to utilize the Renaissance Guidance System to successfully perform the DBS procedure to treat OCD on 30-year-old twins at Littleton Adventist Hospital in Littleton, Colorado, part of Centura Health's Neurosciences system of care.
"DBS involves placing implantable neurostimulators (electrodes) in targeted areas of the brain," said Dr. VanSickle. He added, "The key is to place the device precisely inside the brain to minimize brain tissue damage. This is where the Renaissance® Guidance System comes into play. It allows me to increase surgical accuracy and precisely hold the trajectory. It is groundbreaking technology that is great news for patients suffering from this debilitating disease."
After the procedure, all electrodes were verified by intra-operative CT to be placed in the intended location to an accuracy of less than a millimeter.
"This milestone is another testimony to our commitment to improving the art and science of spine and brain surgery, with one main focus: improving patient care," said Ori Hadomi, CEO of Mazor Robotics.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, OCD affects about 2.3% of the US population aged 18 to 54 years (3.3 million Americans). An additional one million children and adolescents have the disorder. If left untreated, OCD symptoms become progressively worse, making it difficult to function at school, at work, and at home. Treatment is therefore crucial. Initial approaches to OCD treatment include pharmacological, therapeutic, and self-help methods. However, when severe OCD proves resistant to the typical standard of care, physicians may turn to DBS as a surgical option.
About Mazor Robotics
Mazor Robotics (TASE: MZOR; NASDAQGM: MZOR) believes in healing through innovation by developing and introducing revolutionary robotic-based technology and products aimed at redefining the gold standard of quality care. Mazor Robotics Renaissance® Guidance System enables surgeons to conduct spine and brain procedures in a more accurate and secure manner. For more information, please visit www.MazorRobotics.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other securities laws. Any statements in this release about future expectations, plans or prospects for Mazor Robotics, including without limitation, statements regarding the possibilities of the Renaissance system in DBS procedures for OCD, and other statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will" and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. These statements are only predictions based on Mazor's current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors that could cause Mazor's actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Those factors include, but are not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, competitive products, product demand and market acceptance risks, reliance on key strategic alliances, fluctuations in operating results, and other factors indicated in Mazor's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) including those discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Mazor's annual report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on April 9, 2014 and in subsequent filings with the SEC. For more details, refer to Mazor's SEC filings. Mazor undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or to changes in our expectations, except as may be required by law.
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