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Press Kit
For Photos at 300 DPI, for illustrations in ai, for press releases, marketing materials, copyright releases, interviews or other press materials please contact us at: masko@acuitymedicalsystems.com or call: 612-2292185.
Contact: Marshall Masko / Sale & Marketing Department
Rights to use the content of the press kit are given for all digital works as long as they are sourced as: Acuity Medical Systems, Inc. Exception: When used in a partial form in the context of information regarding Acuity Medical Systems (i.e.: article about Acuity or the introduction of a new therapy for ARDM or MD) no source is required.
Some of the illustrations, videos or other materials used in the web site may be copyrights of third parties and may not be used without their permission.
Photos and Illustrations may be downloaded directly from this file. These files will be at 72 DPI. Using Photoshop on jpg files you can go to the Size section on your menu and increase the DPI to 300.
Company Address:
Acuity Medical Systems
1415 East Wayzata Blvd.
Wayzata, MN 55391
Company Phone:
612-238-8350
Company Fax:
952-476-0264
Web Address:
www.acuitymedicalsystems.com
Files
Our zip file contains the following contents-
- Photos of executives and founders
- Biographical Information
- Interviews
- TheraMac Photos
- Logos
- Simulation Photos
- Example Photos
- Eye Photos
- Illustrations
Click here for all of the above
Clinical Research
Press Releases
Papers / Books
George O’Clock on How it Works
(to be sent)
Books available for quote: Electrotherapeutic Devices by George D. O’Clock, Artech House, Boston ,2007 contact: George O’Clock at: george.oclock@mnsu.edu
Facts About Macular Degeneration and the TheraMac System
Macular Degeneration is a very common eye disease
In fact, Macular Degeneration affects more people than either cataracts or glaucoma. Macular Degeneration is the most frequent cause of blindness for patients aged 55 and above in the United States and is estimated to affect over 10 million Americans.
- MD is estimated to cause 8.7% of blindness and low vision globally
- It causes $184 billion in lost productivity each year
- $51 billion is spent treating MD each year in the US
- 90% comprises the Dry form and 10% – 15% of the population the Wet form
Global Facts (number of Macular Degeneration Cases)
| Country | Total Cases | New Cases Each Year |
| US | 10,800,000 | 215,000 |
| Canada | 1,200,000 | 24,000 |
| Europe | 24,200,000 | 485,000 |
| Japan | 4,700,000 | 94,000 |
Ages MD Impacts
- MD IMPACTS: 2% of the population under 50
- MD IMPACTS: between 2% > to 30% between 50 and 75
- MD IMPACTS: 30% > over 75
- The likelihood that you will develop Macular Disease increases as you age. Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the most common type of macular degeneration. As we age, our chances of developing MD increase up to 30%.
Risk Factors
Potential cause & factors for Macular Degeneration
- Race
- Family History
- Nutrition
- Hypertension with arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis
- Smoking
- Exposure to UV
- Age related diseases
Warning Signs
Printed words appear increasingly blurry
Colors appear less bright
Recognizing faces becomes more difficult
Overall vision becomes increasingly hazy
A blurred or blind spot in the center of vision appears, and the sharpness of central vision
Decreases dramatically
Scanning eyes all around an object becomes necessary to provide a more complete image
Trials
Dry MD trials are limited to a handful. Wet MD trials are in the hundreds.
Wet MD is very profitable so it has attracted significant money for trials and development.
The cost for monthly drug treatments for wet MD can exceed $2,257 per treatment, per eye (Lucentis’s). UP TO $80,000 PER YEAR has been documented
Only about 10% of the total MD population can use these drugs. All MD starts as Dry and progress to wet. If MD can be stopped at the Dry stage or slowed down there can be significant savings.
“Dry AMD currently has no effective treatment, so market opportunities are available for a first-to-enter product in this market. With blockbuster status sure to happen for a Wet AMD drug, blockbuster status would be guaranteed for a drug tackling the more prevalent Dry AMD. Who will be likely to succeed?”
AMD Market Outlook 2012 / by: Market Research, 2009
When you get Macular Degeneration
“Hope, little or none” You are told there are no prevention treatments at this time
You are told to take supplements, wear UV eye protection; stay on a fat free diet
You are told that it may progress to Wet MD
You are told to take supplements
You are told you may lose your sight
Option prior to the Acuity Medical Systems Treatment
- There were a very limited number of possible treatment options that may slow down vision loss from Macular Degeneration. In general, once significant damage has occurred from macular degeneration, there may be no treatments effective in reversing the vision loss.
Dry Macular Degeneration is treated primarily with supplements, specialized glasses and external devices to enlarge letter or enhance light are also used
Wet Macular Degeneration is treated with Laser and Injection Drugs
Acuity System
- The only FDA tested, CE approved, Canadian and European Therapy for Dry Macular Degeneration
- Breakthrough & patent protected technology
- Ten years in development
- Clinical Setting and home use for treatment
- Non-invasive, topical ocular therapy, no drugs
- No discomfort or pain
- Long-term treatment
Benefits to the Acuity System
Can be done at home by almost anyone
Can be used when a person travels
Requires a visit to their eye care specialist once every three months for ½ hour
No frightening and uncomfortable injections or laser into the eyes
No significant side effects
Cost-effective compared to drugs or laser
Cost of the TheraMac System
Cost
The cost depends on the country, number of treatments required and if a professional is required to administer each treatment. The cost is significantly less than drugs or lasers.
Quotes From Acuity Executives
John Jarding Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer
” We have been doing research on treatments for Age Related Macular Degeneration at Acuity Medical Systems for over ten years. That is a long time, it is not however, as much time as you would think considering most devices and drugs are in development for twenty and more. We had the benefit of some great research that came before us and also had the ability to see where others had failed.”
“Although we believe that this therapy is broader than just the Dry form of Age Related Macular Degeneration our primary trials have focused on Dry AMD, in the future we will expand our scope of research.”
“I have been involved in eye care health for over 40 years and much of that time has been in the treatment of various forms of macular degeneration. This is the first time to my knowledge a serious treatment has ever been commercialized.”
“Perhaps the saddest thing we see as doctors treating the elderly is when they lose their sight. The ability to see your grandchildren, a flower in the garden, watch TV, read a book or recognize a face or your surroundings is an incredible isolating thing.”
“Ask somebody what they would give up in terms of senses, they never say their sight.”
“It took the LASIK industry 40 years to gain acceptance, I think we will take a lot less time; people want to see.”
George O’ Clock Co-Founder
“Electrotherapy has been applied as a therapeutic option to address a number of health problems for more than 3,000 years. The ancient Greeks and Romans use the 50-V potential of a torpedo fish (electric eel) to treat gout, certain muscular deficiencies, paralysis, and headaches.”
“It is obvious that medical practiontioners are in desperate need of therapeutic alternative that are much less complex, lower in cost, move effective and forgiving than the ones they have at present. Electrotherapy has proven itself to be an excellent safe stand-alone or adjunct treatment for a large number o health problems.”
“In the medical community things move slowly, change is usually driven by the patient.”
Peter Lytle Chairman and COO
“There are not many large hit medical drugs, therapy or device left to tackle. Most of the big hits like cancer are really a lot of niche business opportunities. When it comes to macular degeneration this is a worldwide $50 billion dollar medical business.”
“If you want rewards in life you go out and find a company or organization that is about to change the world and join them.”
“There is nothing more exhilarating than being at the forefront of a medical revolution.”
“Our bodies are electrical devices, everything about us from our ability to manage our heartbeat to processing brain activity is electrical. When we age or have health problems the electrical activity in our cells often decline and unless they are re-stimulated the cells do not reproduce and die.”
” In developed countries there area approximately 41 million cases of macular degeneration and about 818,000 cases added each year.”
“Why would anyone not want to get treated when they are in the Dry Stage of the disease? If you could stop the progression or slow it down you may never progress to the Wet Stage. That saves money, anguish and above all vision.”
“The people that have spent a decade developing this treatment are not just devoted, they are brilliant. It took a lot of failed experiments to find the success in this development track.”
Blair Mowery President and CEO
“It is estimated that macular degeneration causes over $180 billion dollars in lost productivity each year. This is the leading cause of blindness in the developed world, it was obvious that someone, somewhere was going to find a solution to the problem. I guess I am just amazed that it took this long.”
“I consider this a noble cause, it is a chance for me to do one last great thing.”
“My father-in-law had AMD, I know from personal experience how devastating this disease is when it start to progress. It takes away a person personal freedoms, sometimes their positive mental health and often leave them with no hope.”
“I would rather give up my hearing, my taste, my sense of touch than give up my sight.”
“Taking a new medical product to market is a challenge. First no matter how many clinical trials you have and who did them the medical community is slow to adapt. The cost of getting the word out is enormous, the cost of reaching the patients difficult, this therapy may be different. When older people cannot see and their kids find out there is a solution, which frees them up and gives their parents more freedom I think the word will get around fast.”
