ESTECH Launches the COBRA Adhere XL, a New Cardiac Ablation Product Offering an Alternative Treatment With Proven Safety and Effectiveness.

PHILADELPHIA -- Florida Surgeons Conduct First Minimally Invasive Stand Alone Ablation Procedure for Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation Using the New Device

At The American Association for Thoracic Surgery Annual Meeting, ESTECH announced the launch of the COBRA(R) Adhere(TM) XL. This new alternative for cardiac ablation has been proven to provide safe and effective cardiac ablation during its limited release period. Robert R. Lazzara, M.D., and J. Crayton Pruitt, M.D., both with Cardiac Surgical Associates in Tampa, Florida, report continued success with a series of minimally invasive cardiac ablation procedures using COBRA Adhere XL, a new tool in the clinically proven COBRA Line of Radio Frequency (RF) Devices for cardiac ablation.

Dr. Lazzara reports, "We used the COBRA Adhere XL in a least invasive method, accessing the heart with only three small punctures between the ribs. The device offers the advantage of suction adherence to the surface of the heart, efficiently delivering ablation therapy, requiring only a few minutes of time to deliver the treatment, in a hands free environment."

ESTECH President and CEO Art Bertolero said, "The COBRA Adhere XL represents a significant new option for patients requiring cardiac ablation, with specific indications for Atrial Fibrillation in Europe, and Cardiac Ablation in the U.S. In peer reviewed studies conducted on atrial fibrillation patients, the COBRA technology has produced the highest ablation success rates, and early results with the COBRA Adhere products show success rates approaching 90%."

About COBRA Technology

COBRA technology uses a unique intelligent temperature based system that provides both optimal and reproducible results by regulating the RF energy.

The ESTECH COBRA Adhere XL and the COBRA AFfirm have recently received US FDA 510(k) marketing clearance. The COBRA Adhere Surgical System received the CE mark with an indication for treatment of AF. The COBRA Adhere is used by surgeons to make lesions on the heart that block the electrical impulses that cause AF.

The COBRA Adhere XL will enable a minimally invasive technique to treat AF. The COBRA AFfirm is the first RF product accessory to be indicated for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias in the United States. It provides a means for immediately evaluating the effectiveness of AF treatment procedures.

About ESTECH

Headquartered in San Ramon, CA, ESTECH offers tools for least invasive techniques and traditional approaches to the procedures cardiac surgeons do every day -- coronary artery bypass, valve surgery, atrial ablation and surgical treatment of congestive heart failure.