Hansen Medical(R) Announces World's First Series in Robotic Cancer Treatment With the Magellan Robotic System

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwired - Jun 3, 2015) - Hansen Medical®, Inc. (NASDAQ: HNSN), the global leader in intravascular robotics, today announced the completion of the world's first robotically-assisted radioembolization procedures for cancer treatment. The procedures, utilizing the Magellan Robotic System, were performed by Interventional Radiologists Dr. Francis Schlueter at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, OH and Dr. Ripal Gandhi at Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute in Miami, FL. While the Magellan Robotic System has been used extensively in interventional Transarterial Chemoembolization, or TACE procedures, these procedures represent the world's first reported uses of the system in radioembolization procedures.

Radioembolization is a catheter-based procedure for cancer treatment in which radioactive particles are delivered to a tumor through the bloodstream for the treatment of primary liver cancer and metastatic colon cancer. In the U.S., approximately 80,000 people per year die from these cancers. In radioembolization, tiny glass or resin beads called microspheres are placed inside the blood vessels that feed a tumor in order to deliver lethal radiation to the cancer cells. Once these microspheres containing the radioactive isotope yttrium Y-90 become lodged at the tumor site, they deliver a high dose of radiation to the tumor with general sparing of normal tissues.

"Many patients who suffer from primary liver and metastatic colorectal cancer may benefit from radioembolization therapy, and the Magellan Robotic System offers important benefits in these procedures," said Dr. Schlueter. "The stability and navigability of the Magellan Robotic System are critical features in these types of procedures that require precision and a delicate touch when delivering the Y90 radioactive beads," added Dr. Gandhi.

The Magellan Robotic System is an advanced technology that drives Magellan Robotic Catheters and guide wires during minimally-invasive, endovascular procedures. Magellan is designed to offer procedural predictability, precision, and catheter stability as physicians navigate inside blood vessels and deliver therapy. Image-guided medical procedures using interventional fluoroscopy, while growing rapidly, are the leading source of occupational ionizing radiation exposure for medical personnel¹. Magellan's remote workstation allows physicians to control robotic catheters and guide wires while seated away from the radiation field, which has been shown to reduce radiation exposure for the physician by as much as 95% in complex endovascular procedures².