O.C. Investors Buy Trimedyne Laser Facility : Medical technology: The Florida unit was losing money as demand shifted to a new device for clearing arteries.

As part of a cost-cutting campaign, Trimedyne Inc. said Friday it sold its industrial laser manufacturing facility in Florida to an Orange County investor group for $450,000.

Richard Demmer, executive vice president, said Trimedyne sold Laser Ionics Inc., an Orlando firm that it acquired in 1983, to a group that includes Richard Brown, Robert Moon and Robert Yamasaki.

Laser Ionics makes an argon gas laser that is used to heat a probe for opening clogged leg arteries. However, Demmer said that Trimedyne has shifted to the use of a solid-state laser in manufacturing its “hot tip” medical laser system and Laser Ionics’ products are now used only for non-medical purposes.

Demmer said that Laser Ionics was a money-losing unit for Trimedyne, which recorded a $650,000 writedown for an anticipated loss from the sale of the laser subsidiary in its third quarter ending June 30. In that quarter, Trimedyne sustained a net loss of $3.8 million on revenues of $2.7 million.

While Trimedyne’s “hot tip” laser is currently the only laser system approved by the Food and Drug Administration for opening leg arteries, its sales have flagged because of the medical community’s growing interest in “cold laser” technology that shows greater promise for use in the heart.

Demmer said that while Trimedyne still is marketing its hot-tip laser, it is concentrating on development of a type of cold laser fueled by holmium, a crystalline chemical that gives off infrared radiation that is harnessed to burn through plaque.