Improving the Lives of Women
Learn about Merit’s best-in-class technologies and resources for women’s healthcare
Women’s Health
Merit has a long history of commitment to women’s health issues, specifically in the areas of breast cancer, osteoporosis, and uterine fibroids.
Osteoporosis Treatment
Approximately one in two women and up to one in four men over age 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis,6 with fractures most often occurring in the spine.7 Merit Medical is committed to the treatment of vertebral compression fractures (VCF) through minimally invasive vertebral augmentation and vertebroplasty.
Advanced Technologies for VCF
Merit Medical offers a full family of VCF solutions to meet the needs of your patients, including the StabiliT® Vertebral Augmentation System, StabiliT® MX Vertebral Augmentation System, StabiliT® VP Vertebroplasty System, Osseoflex® SN Steerable Needle, Osseoflex® Access Instruments, and Osseoflex® SB Steerable and Straight Balloons.
For complete information regarding potential complications, contraindications, warnings, and precautions, please review the products’ Instructions for Use.
Physician Resources
Merit offers an extensive Interventional Spine Resource Center to support you in your spine procedures. Downloadable resources include:
- Data & Studies
- Patient Education
- Referring Physician Materials
- Reimbursement Support
- Clinical Resources
- CMS Look-up Tool
Hands-on Physician Education Courses
Think Interventional Spine® education courses are designed to immerse physicians in the demographics, diagnoses, and most current clinical evidence regarding minimally invasive procedures for the treatment of VCF. These courses include didactic presentations and hands-on training.
Explore the Merit Think Interventional Spine course schedule and register today.
Breast Cancer Diagnosis & Treatment
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide.1 Merit Medical continues to invest in technologies and resources to improve diagnosis as well as early-stage, breast conservation treatment.
Advanced approaches to tumor localization, surgical guidance and targeted radiation therapy
Merit Medical is very pleased to now offer the innovative and patient-centric technologies of Cianna Medical, including the Scout and Brachy.
SCOUT® is the leading wire-free solution for breast tumor localization proven in 75,000 procedures in over 500 hospitals across the country. SCOUT radar technology enables advanced wire-free localization for, neoadjuvant therapy, localizing lymph nodes, placement at biopsy and oncoplastic procedures. It enhances surgical outcomes, improves radiology & OR efficiencies and creates a better patient experience.
SAVI® Brachy is used after a lumpectomy to deliver a highly-precise dose of radiation only to the tissue where the cancer is most likely to reoccur. This proven technique can be done in 2-5 days and minimizes radiation exposure to healthy tissue and decreases toxicity in comparison to external beam irradiation.
Merit Medical is pleased add SCOUT to the THINK educational offerings with a series of THINK Wire-Free courses. Click here for more information.
Diagnose with Precision
To support accurate diagnosis, Merit offers the Pink Achieve™ Biopsy Device, an automatic biopsy tool that features a compact, lightweight design that allows for one-handed use. The Pink Achieve is ideal for ultrasound-guided procedures, includes three firing modes and is available in 12 gauge.
Breast Cancer Awareness and Support for Research
In October 2018, Merit conducted an international corporate campaign to raise awareness of breast cancer among employees and in the communities surrounding our global facilities. Employees participated in activities together to support this cause and Merit made a donation to support the international Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), funding 500 critical lifesaving hours of research in the lab.
See photos and videos of Merit’s October Breast Cancer Awareness Month activities:
Uterine Fibroid Treatment
Up to 80% of women develop uterine fibroids by the time they reach age 50.2 Merit is deeply committed to uterine fibroid embolization (UFE), a non-surgical treatment option that allows a woman to keep her uterus, with the most clinically studied and proven round embolic particle and supporting tools, as well as resources for physicians and patients.
Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE) Tools
Merit Medical’s Embosphere® Microspheres continue to be the embolic of choice for predictable clinical results, ease of use, and long-term symptom control of uterine fibroids.
Embosphere demonstrates predictable delivery and smooth microcatheter passage3, a direct correlation between the level of occlusion and the size of the particles used4, 5 and a consistently yield high infarction rates of all fibroids.
In addition to the gold standard round embolic for UFE, Merit also offers microcatheters and access products to support UFE procedures.
For complete information regarding potential complications, contraindications, warnings, and precautions, please review the products’ Instructions for Use.
Physician Resources
Merit offers a robust UFE Physician Resource Center to support Interventional Radiologists in their UFE practices. Visit the one-stop shop for downloadable resources including:
- Clinical Resources
- Reimbursement Support
- Data & Studies
- Referring Physician Education
- Patient Education
UFE Patient Resources
Ask4UFE®, is a patient education program for uterine fibroids and alternative treatment options, mainly UFE, sponsored by Merit Medical.
The program includes the robust patient-facing website Ask4UFE.com with more than 1 million visitors per year, social media awareness efforts and printed and digital educational tools for patients. Physicians can have access to these tools to educate their patients. Visit Merit.com/UFE for more information.
REFERENCES
- World Health Organization. (n.d.). Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/cancer/events/breast_cancer_month/en/
- S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2018, Mar 16). Uterine fibroids. Retrieved from https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/uterine-fibroids
- Laurent, A., Beaujeux, R., Wassef, M., et al. (1996). Trisacryl gelatin microspheres for therapeutic embolization, I: Development and in vitro evaluation. ANJR Am J Neuroradiol, Mar;17(3):533-540.
- Pelage, J. P., Laurent, A., Wassef, M., et al. (2002). Uterine artery embolization in sheep: Comparison of acute effects with polyvinyl alcohol particles and calibrated microspheres. Radiology, Aug;224(2):436-445.
- Verret, V., Ghegediban, S. H., Wassef, M., et al. (2011). The arterial distribution of Embozene and Embosphere microspheres in sheep kidney and uterus embolization models. J Vasc Interv Radiol, Feb;22(2):220-228.
- National Osteoporosis Foundation. (n.d.). What is osteoporosis and what causes it? Retrieved from https://www.nof.org/patients/what-is-osteoporosis/
- (2016, Jan). Osteoporosis and spinal fractures. Retrieved from https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/osteoporosis-and-spinal-fractures/
