Trimedyne Signs Pact for Work on Laser Devices

Trimedyne Inc. in Santa Ana, which reported higher revenues and smaller losses than ever before in its five-year history, said Monday it will develop and test laser devices for the treatment of atherosclerosis and other heart diseases under an agreement it has signed with Humana Heart Institute.

Humana is one of the major centers working with Trimedyne, a manufacturer of medical devices, to develop and test the company’s Laser Optiscope and Laserprobe catheter devices for the treatment of atherosclerosis, fatty deposits and plaque that form blockages in blood vessels causing heart attacks, said Michael R. Henson, president of Trimedyne.

The Louisville, Ky., hospital has purchased about $100,000 worth of Trimedyne equipment.

For the first fiscal quarter, ended Dec. 31, Trimedyne reported record revenues of $1.18 million, a 27% increase over $934,000 in sales in the previous fiscal year’s first quarter. The company also reported a $187,000 loss, a 32% improvement over the $273,000 loss in the previous fiscal year’s first quarter.

Last month, Trimedyne raised $2.6 million through the sale of 475,000 shares of common stock to a group of current investors. The funds will be used to finance both its internal growth and the development of its patented laser devices, Henson said.

“What we’re losing is basically what we put into research,” he said. “We now have some products going through testing process. The opportunity is so large that we’re not going to try to become too profitable too fast. The break will come when the laser is approved.”

He said the Laserprobe can reduce a four-hour surgery to a 15- to 20-minute procedure that includes a 20-second, non-surgical laser treatment to reach the same effect.