News Release

New data on Orqis Medical's Cancion® CRS™ to be reported at ACC

Findings will help identify congestive heart failure patients for novel 'rest to recovery' therapy

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Orqis Medical

Lake Forest, Calif. – March 7, 2005 – Newly analyzed research on Orqis Medical's Cancion® CRSTM cardiac recovery system for treating congestive heart failure will be presented at the Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), held in Orlando, Florida (March 6-9).

The data suggests that patients with acutely decompensated chronic heart failure may benefit from the first-of-its-kind Cancion therapy. Based on Orqis Medical's proprietary discoveries in hemodynamic principles, the therapy is designed to create a unique "rest to recovery" environment that enables the failing heart to rest as it continues to function. It represents a significant departure from conventional drug therapy and more invasive blood pumps, which either force the failing heart to work harder, or rest it to the point where it begins to atrophy.

"The patients we analyzed clearly benefited from the Cancion CRS therapy," said Michael Zile, M.D., who analyzed the research data. "By providing continuous aortic flow augmentation, the therapy enabled patients to experience progressive improvement in key measures such as cardiac index and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure."

Dr. Zile's oral presentation (AAC 864-8) is titled "Continuous Aortic Flow Augmentation Using Orqis Cancion Cardiac Recovery System in Patients with Severe Heart Failure: Determinants of the Hemodynamic Response." It will be delivered by Dr. Zile on Wednesday, March 9th at 9:45 a.m. The presentation includes data from 24 patients with congestive heart failure who participated in Orqis Medical's feasibility trials in the US and Europe.

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About The Cancion CRS Therapy
The Cancion (CRS) cardiac recovery system is the first therapy for congestive heart failure that supplements blood flow specifically in the descending aorta with the aim of initiating progressive hemodynamic improvement. Novel use of a blood pump combined with proprietary peripheral access to the circulatory system enables the Cancion CRS to increase blood flow without: 1) taking over the function of the heart, 2) requiring synchronization of the heart or 3) ever touching the heart.

The Cancion CRS received the CE mark in 2001. It is the subject of an FDA-approved trial at 40 major hospitals nationwide. The Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) Feasibility Trial (named MOMENTUM for Multicenter Trial of the Orqis Medical CRS for the Enhanced Treatment of CHF, Unresponsive to Medical Therapy) began in 2003. Ongoing research is focused on the therapy's ability to induce vasodilation and improve renal blood flow while reversing the body's compensatory effects caused by abnormal aortic flow.

About Orqis Medical
Orqis Medical Corporation is a privately held clinical-stage medical device company that is investigating its discovery of a new hemodynamic principle to change the way congestive heart failure is treated. Founded in 1997, Orqis Medical is headquartered in Lake Forest, Calif. For more information, visit www.orqis.com.

About the ACC
The American College of Cardiology (ACC), a 31,500-member nonprofit professional medical society and teaching institution, is the leading organization dedicated to being an advocate for quality cardiovascular care-through education, research promotion, development and application of standards and guidelines to influence health care policy.


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