Mission

Through worldwide collaboration, CROES seeks to assess, using evidence based scientific methodology, the various aspects of clinical endourology.

Vision

By applying rigorous scientific evaluation to the field of clinical endourology, CROES will enable all urologic surgeons to bring to their patients the most effective and efficient care possible.

Projects

Contact

For more information please contact Sonja van Rees Vellinga (info@croesoffice.org).

Partnership with Industry: Angiodynamics View on the Clinical Research Office of the Endourology Society Projects

Courtesy of AngioDynamics

AngioDynamics® is recognized and trusted as a leading provider of innovative, image-guided, minimally invasive medical devices used by professional healthcare providers for vascular access, surgery, peripheral vascular disease, and oncology. The company is committed to being a partner in patient care, as exemplified through collaboration with the Clinical Research Office of the Endourological Society (CROES) on its clinical studies Evaluating Irreversible Electroporation (IRE) for the Ablation of Localized Unilateral Prostate Cancer.

Originally founded in Queensbury, N.Y., in 1988, AngioDynamics has grown into a National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations-listed public company with a global reach. Queensbury was chosen because of its location in the heart of “Catheter Valley,” an area in New York's Adirondack region named for its long history of catheter and other medical device manufacturing. Today, the company's international headquarters is based in Amsterdam, and its corporate offices are located in Albany, N.Y. It has grown its presence far beyond upstate New York with 1400 employees worldwide at facilities in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia. AngioDynamics is currently selling in more than 50 markets through direct sales and distributors, including The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany, and France.

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ANGIODYNAMICS 1:

Corporate Headquarters in Latham, NY, USA.

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ANGIODYNAMICS 2:

NanoKnife® System, Generator.

AngioDynamics and CROES share a commitment to help physicians advance the urology field and find the best ways to help patients. Through its worldwide network of physicians, CROES presents an opportunity to capture significant amounts of data. By their nature, these larger cohorts produce a vaster breadth of information, offering observations that may otherwise go unnoticed. Ultimately, these insights lead to new product development and improved patient care, ensuring companies like AngioDynamics and organizations like CROES build on the shared commitment to physicians and patients.

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ANGIODYNAMICS 3:

NanoKnife® System, Single Electrode Probes.

Interest in using focal therapy for prostate cancer continues to build, and as early-stage detection continues to advance, ² there is greater opportunity to treat the low- and intermediate-risk patients who are the best candidates for focal treatment. Over the years, several focal therapies have been introduced, with high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) as the oldest. Other modalities include cryotherapy, brachytherapy, and photodynamic therapy.

In terms of experimental focal therapy, IRE is a newcomer in the ablation sphere. During the past few years, it has drawn growing interest in the medical community as a nonthermal focal therapy. IRE uses high voltage but low direct current in an ablation procedure that uses low energy electrical pulses to create defects (pores) in cell membranes, resulting in loss of homeostasis and subsequent cell death. ³ The function of a cell membrane is to separate the intracellular and extracellular milieu, and to control the transport processes between the interior and exterior of the cell according to the cell needs. Electroporation is a way to increase cell membrane permeability by subjecting it to an electrical field. ⁴

There is a growing call in the patient population for less invasive, yet more effective treatments, creating an equal reaction from the urologic community for quality research into these therapies. In essence, patients are concerned with side effects such as impotence and incontinence that can have a significant impact on their quality of life. To that end, urologists will benefit from the data created through these studies by giving them the information they need to add to their continuum of care. By determining the effectiveness of new technologies such as IRE, urologists can identify the best treatment for their patients and capitalize on the advancements in early detection.

AngioDynamics has distinguished itself through the company's consistent ability to successfully develop and bring to market new technologiec and products, and believes it is well poised to continue that trend. Looking into the future, the Company plans to bring forth a continuing stream of innovations that greatly improve patient care by providing the highest-quality, best-performing products from its three primary business franchises: Oncology/Surgery (O/S), Vascular Access (VA), and Peripheral Vascular (PV). O/S, which is the primary topic of the newsletter article, manages the company's NanoKnife® System, as well as microwave, radiofrequency ablation, and surgical resection technologies. VA consists of AngioDynamics' port, peripherally inserted central catheter and dialysis product lines, and boasts the exciting BioFlo^™ technology, which is designed to reduce the accumulation of catheter-related thrombus on, and in, catheters. Meanwhile, the company's PV franchise covers a large breadth of products from venous ablation to thrombolytics and fluid management to angiographic catheters.

In all these areas, it is AngioDynamics' mission to work each day with integrity and passion to deliver high-quality, innovative, cost-effective solutions that meet the needs of our customers and improve patients' lives. This mission is not ours alone, however, but one we share with CROES and the urologist community. We are committed to being a partner in patient care with urologists around the world. Through dynamic exchanges, clinicians and companies such as ours are able to drive innovation and improve the lives of patients the world over. Further, studies and partnerships with groups like CROES are critical to acquiring the data and expertise needed to advance today's promising technologies, and those yet to come.