SurgiLight Introduces its New IR-3000 Fiber-Coupled Laser at the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Dallas, Texas.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers American Academy of Ophthalmology The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) is a medical association of ophthalmologists–medical doctors (MDs) specializing in eye care and surgery). The group is based in San Francisco, California. ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 30, 2000 SurgiLight Inc., (OTCBB OTCBB See OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB). :SRGL SRGL Statement of Recognised Gains and Losses (UK) ), announced that it exhibited a new fiber-coupled infrared laser for ocular surgery at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO AAO American Association of Orthodontists; American Academy of Ophthalmology; American Academy of Otolaryngology; American Academy of Osteopathy. AAO ) held in Dallas, Texas last week. Two papers were presented at the International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS ISRS International Society of Refractive Surgery ISRS International Safety Rating System ISRS International Society for Reef Studies ISRS Indian Society of Remote Sensing ISRS Inhibiteur Spécifique du Recaptage de La Sérotonine ) to up-date the clinical results of presbyopia Presbyopia Definition The term presbyopia means "old eye" and is a vision condition involving the loss of the eye's ability to focus on close objects. correction using IR-3000 laser. These results included up to 18 months of follow-up for 97 cases. The Company's IR-3000 fiber-coupled laser is the world's first innovative system designed for ocular surgeries with an emphasis on presbyopia reversal. Presbyopia is a vision problem caused by age and has a potential market over $150 billion in the U.S. and $1.5 trillion worldwide. The Company has not received FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. clearance to perform presbyopia reversal in the U.S., but expects to begin clinical studies in the U.S. soon. At the AAO show in Dallas, the Company generated a lot of potential buyers worldwide. Promotional systems are scheduled to be delivered to Japan, Italy, France, Israel, China, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela and in the Bahamas. The Company is also negotiating with a leading medical firm to be its distributor for the U.S. market in which the systems will be sold under the existing 510(K) clearance granted to Premier Laser Systems, Inc. and acquired by the Company for a variety of soft tissue applications in ophthalmology. At the ISRS Conference, the Company presented 97 cases of "Laser Presbyopia Reversal" (LAPR LAPR Lawfully Admitted for Permanent Residency LAPR Log A Posteriori Ratio LAPR LaMar Ayers Public Relations Group (Washington, DC) ) performed by two groups in Venezuela and Argentina. The clinical results of the Company's IR-3000 system indicated that LAPR is safe, effective and may offer advantages over other non-laser methods including simpler, faster with minimal regression. The clinical results were also recently reviewed by the U.S. ophthalmologists, Drs. Gailitis, Burks and Beyer who visited and interviewed patients at the Company's Venezuela Laser Center. According to these doctors, the results are very promising and all treated presbyopia patients are happy with the results. The Company plans to offer the IR-3000 and IR-3000A systems at retail prices of $150,000 to $180,000 each. The IR3000 will be sold outside the U.S., while the IR3000A is targeted for the U.S. market. An additional royalty fee of $300 to $500 per patient will be charged to the surgeons. The Company estimates that royalty fee income may be in the range of $70 million annually, based on 200 systems installed and 1,500 procedures performed per system per year. The Company currently has an inventory of 150 completed systems and additional 200 units that are approximately 70% complete. The company currently owns more than 14 U.S. and international patents and an additional 17 patents pending, which cover a broad range of laser spectrum for ophthalmic applications and the use of various optical fibers for eye surgeries. The Company also owns numerous FDA clearances including the EX-308 for laser treatment of psoriasis and IR-3000 series for ophthalmic uses. The Company is aggressively pursuing domestic representation for these new ophthalmic products and the recently FDA cleared EX-308 laser for the treatment of psoriasis. The Company's new product, model IR-3000, for presbyopia correction is fundamentally different from the thermal IR laser made by Sunrise (Nasdaq:SNRS SNRS Securing Networks with Cisco Routers and Switches SNRS Southern Nursing Research Society ) and the UV lasers made by VISX (Nasdaq:VISX), LaserSight (Nasdaq:LASE), Bausch and Lomb (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :BOL BOL Bolivia (ISO Country code) BOL Books Online BOL Bole (SIL code, Nigeria) BOL Bill Of Lading BOL Beginning Of Line BOL Best Of Luck BOL Buzz Out Loud BOL Bruin Online BOL Beginning Of Life ) and Nidek (Japan). SurgiLight is a world leader in the development of ultraviolet lasers and new infrared technologies, a pioneer and inventor of scanning lasers and lasers for presbyopia reversal. The Company continues to receive royalty income from international eye laser and cosmetic centers. This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding future events and performance of the Company, which involves risks and uncertainties that could materially affect actual results. Investors should refer to documents that the Company files with the SEC for a description of certain factors that could cause actual results to vary from current expectations and the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. |
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