In 2009, Massachusetts based ZOLL Medical purchased intravascular temperature management (IVTM) assets from Alsius Corporation. In 2006, Ithaka (OTC:ITHK) a Specified Purpose Acquisition Company had agreed to reverse merger with Alsius. Formerly known as Neuroperfusion, with a focus to Ischemic stroke treatment, Alsius has developed a catheter-based system for the delivery of cooled saline solution to patients who have suffered a head injury or heart attack. The cooling of vital organs whose blood supply has been restricted by disease or injury is a widely accepted approach to minimizing permanent tissue injury. Alsius Corporation, a commercial-stage medical device company, through its subsidiary, Alsius Medical Corporation, develops, manufactures, and sells catheter-based intravascular temperature management products to precisely control patient body temperature in hospital critical care settings in the United States. Its products consist of the CoolGard and Thermogard systems, the computer-controlled cooling and warming units that circulate cool or warm saline in a closed-loop circuit through balloons that surround the catheters; single-use catheters used with the systems, such as Cool Line, Icy, Fortius, Quattro, and Solex; and single use start-up kits, which connect the catheter to the system. The company also offers hospital monitoring interface accessory that enables the caregiver to display the patients temperature on the Alsius system and the patient monitor. Its products are used in patients being treated for a range of conditions, such as cardiac arrest, stroke, and head trauma, as well as during cardiothoracic surgery. The company markets its products to acute care hospitals and critical care physicians through a direct sales force in the United States, as well as through independent distributors in international markets. The Alsius COOL LINE/COOLGARD system is under clinical investigation for the treatment of myocardial infarction and for temperature control in the neurosurgical intensive care unit. The COOL LINE/COOLGARD system is being marketed in Europe by the company's corporate partner, ev3. the clinical benefits of Alsius Corporations fever management for febrile patients in the ICU are already well established and yet current methods for controlling patient temperatures are often therapeutically inadequate, difficult to implement and time consuming. Alsius has taken its cooling technology and incorporated it into a central venous line combining critical care functionality with fever management. Additionally the company is evaluating cardiac applications for their cooling technology, including supplementing the treatment of acute myocardial infarction and cardiac arrest.
