NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. (Ethicon) today announces the launch of HARMONIC FOCUS®+ Shears with Adaptive Tissue Technology (HARMONIC FOCUS®+) the next generation ultrasonic surgical device that now brings Adaptive Tissue Technology to open procedures while delivering on the HARMONIC® promise of precision. The new device will be featured at the Fifth World Congress of the International Federation of Head and Neck Oncologic Societies (IFHNOS) and Annual Meeting of the American Head & Neck Society (AHNS) this week.
The new HARMONIC FOCUS®+ features the proprietary Adaptive Tissue Technology that Ethicon introduced in HARMONIC ACE®+ last year, integrated into a new, slimmer design with faster sealing and transection at the tip for greater precision and speed.
- Next-generation Adaptive Tissue Technology enables HARMONIC FOCUS®+ to actively sense and adapt to changing tissue conditions to intelligently deliver energy, resulting in reduced clamp arm temperature for improved thermal management1
- A redesigned tip profile on HARMONIC FOCUS®+ delivers 49 percent faster sealing and cutting at the tip2
- The HARMONIC FOCUS® Shears reduces procedure time in long and complex procedures3
- A newly designed profile that is 19 percent slimmer for improved visualization4
“With HARMONIC FOCUS®+, I can do more with a single instrument. Based on the improvements made to FOCUS®+, I should not have as many instrument exchanges,” said David Terris, MD, Edward S. Porubsky Distinguished Professor and Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Georgia Regents University and Surgical Director of the GRU Thyroid Center. “The more surgeons can use the HARMONIC FOCUS®+ for dissection, the fewer times we have to reach for a different instrument. It’s not only easier, it may also make the operation faster and more efficient based upon these improvements to the device.”5
HARMONIC FOCUS®+ is designed for use in specialties including otorhinolaryngologic (ENT), and General Surgery and in open procedures requiring fine dissection and reliable vessel sealing. HARMONIC FOCUS®+ will be available beginning this month in the United States, most of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. This device is the just the latest in a series of technology advancements from the Ethicon Energy platform including HARMONIC ACE®+7 Shears with Advanced Hemostasis (click here) and the ENSEAL® G2 Articulating Tissue Sealer (click here).
“Ethicon continues to lead the market in advanced energy with this next evolution in the HARMONIC® legacy of meaningful innovation,” said Tom O’Brien, Ethicon Vice President, Energy Global Strategic Marketing. “Our HARMONIC FOCUS®+ platform delivers even greater versatility and performance because of the tremendous collaboration our surgeon and health system partners bring to our innovation process and our understanding of their needs for superior outcomes and superior efficiency.”
About Our Energy Platform
Ethicon is a leader in advanced energy solutions and offers the broadest portfolio of ultrasonic energy devices using HARMONIC® technology and advanced bipolar energy devices using ENSEAL® technology. Click here to learn more.
HARMONIC® ultrasonic devices combine precision and multifunctionality: Uniquely designed for precise dissection, sealing and transection, one device enables surgeons to perform multiple jobs without instrument exchanges. HARMONIC® technology is the proven leader in advanced energy with more than 17 million procedures worldwide.6 Devices in the HARMONIC® portfolio are used for open and laparoscopic procedures that require precision. The portfolio can be used across a range of surgical specialties: General, Colorectal, Bariatric, Vascular, Gynecology, ENT, Urology, Thoracic, and Plastic and Reconstructive. Click here to learn more.
ENSEAL® Tissue Sealers consistently cut and seal vessels up to and including 7mm through high uniform compression. Devices in the ENSEAL® portfolio are intended for use during both open and laparoscopic surgical procedures where division of vessels, lymphatics and tissue bundles is performed. These surgical specialties include: General, Colorectal, Bariatric, Gynecology, Thoracic, Plastic and Reconstructive, Urology, and ENT. Click here to learn more.
About Our Company
Ethicon, Inc. and Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., two companies with long histories of medical innovation, do business under the Ethicon brand. Their surgical technologies and products (including sutures, staplers, energy devices, clip appliers, trocars and meshes) are used around the world to treat colorectal and thoracic conditions, women’s health conditions, hernias, cancer and obesity. Ethicon, Inc. and Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. are part of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies. Learn more at www.ethicon.com, or follow us on Twitter @Ethicon.
Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections of Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. and/or Johnson & Johnson. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: manufacturing difficulties or delays, both internally and within the supply chain; product efficacy or safety concerns resulting in product recalls or regulatory action; challenges inherent in new product development; competition, including technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges to patents; changes in behavior and spending patterns or financial distress of purchasers of health care products and services; changes to regulations and domestic and foreign health care reforms; trends toward health care cost containment; and increased scrutiny of the health care industry by government agencies. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Johnson & Johnson’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2013, including in Exhibit 99 thereto, and the company’s subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings are available online at www.sec.gov, www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson & Johnson. Neither Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. nor Johnson & Johnson undertakes to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information or future events or developments.
1 The use of HARMONIC FOCUS®+ Shears with Adaptive Tissue Technology resulted in a 15.7 0F cooler clamp (measured with IR camera) arm temperature after ten successive transections on porcine vessels. In a benchtop study on porcine vessels, the clamp arm of the HARMONIC FOCUS+ Shears with Adaptive Tissue Technology was, after 10 successive transections, 15.7° cooler vs FOCUS Shears (108.8°F vs 124.5° F, P<.05; PRC063417).
2 Versus HARMONIC FOCUS® Shears without Adaptive Tissue Technology, as exhibited in a benchtop study performed with devices on porcine tissue (median transection time of 2.22 sec vs 4.41 sec for tip cuts on thin tissue, P=.045).
3 Using HARMONIC FOCUS® in thyroidectomy has been shown to reduce operating time by 37 minutes, reduce operative blood loss by 16 mL, and is not associated with an increase in complication rate, drainage fluid, or hospital stay compared to thyroidectomy in which clamp-cut-and-tie (CCT) is used. Pons Y, Gauthier J, Ukkola-Pons E, Clément P, Roguet E, Poncet JL, Conessa C. Comparison of LigaSure vessel sealing system, HARMONIC® scalpel, and conventional hemostasis in total thyroidectomy. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2009 Oct; 141(4):496-501.
4 Device measurements based on a metrology study (profile is clamp arm + pad + blade area [.0079 sq in vs .0098 sq in]).
5 Dr. Terris is a paid consultant for Ethicon.
6 Internal sales data as of June 10, 2013.
