New Medicare Approved Device Prevents Amputations Caused by Diabetes and Other Related Diseases of the Arteries
 
SAN MARCOS, Calif. – June 23, 2004 – ACI Medical today announced that its ArtAssist® medical device acquired Medicare approval.  The new Medicare code is for a home use, therapeutic device used for treating poor leg circulation.  Using specially designed compression cuffs to increase blood flow to the legs, the ArtAssist device reduces the need for amputation by more than 50 percent and provides significant cost savings to the healthcare industry.
 
The development team spent several years in creating and testing this simple to use device that triples blood flow to the legs in patients with arterial blockages.   By increasing blood flow, the ArtAssist device relieves intermittent claudication (pain during walking), which affects millions of people each year, the majority of whom are elderly.  
 
Diabetes is the most frequent cause of non-traumatic lower limb amputation, with more than 92,000 amputations performed each year, according to the American Diabetes Association. Diabetic foot ulcers, suffered by more than two million diabetics annually, commonly results from reduced blood flow and can lead to amputation.  The ArtAssist device can help people avoid the prospect of disabling amputation.
 
Medicare has issued the new code in recognition that this new therapy is gaining widespread acceptance by the medical community.  Because of its ability to save limbs and increase pain free walking distance, it is cost effective and will save the Medicare system significant amounts of money while also sparing many patients from undergoing amputation. 
 
Compared to drug usage for intermittent claudication, the device improves pain free walking distance significantly better and the results are permanent after several months of use.  With drug therapy, walking pain reappears within weeks of stopping the drug.  Additionally, there are no side effects of the device while drug usage has side effects including severe headaches. 
 
The ArtAssist device is a simple, therapeutic device that patients can use in their own home.  Once the doctor has prescribed the device, the patient works directly with ACI Medical, Inc., who will ship the device anywhere in the country.  The ArtAssist is simple to use; you simple apply the cuffs, sit down and turn it on.  The massage-like, rapid compression cuffs work to triple the blood flow and stimulate the beneficial effects of walking without the pain or tissue trauma.