Cardica has shipped its first commercial MicroCutter XCHANGE 30 devices and cartridges to DACH Medical, its distributor for Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The MicroCutter XCHANGE 30 is a cartridge-based cutting/stapling device, which is used during laparoscopic and thoracoscopic surgical procedures.
The initial shipment of the XCHANGE 30 equipment will be used in hospitals in Switzerland and Austria.
The device will be used in a number of surgical procedures, which includes appendectomies, gastric bypasses, hemicolectomies, gastrectomies, parenchymal or soft organ surgeries, lobectomies and other thoracic and lung surgeries as well as in hysterectomies.
The company is also starting European commercial sales as well as gathering data for a planned US regulatory submission.
Cardica president and chief executive officer Bernard Hausen said moving from development to commercialization of the XCHANGE 30 is the beginning of a new phase of growth.
"We believe the XCHANGE 30 provides a technology advancement over larger stapler sizes which have hindered further innovation in surgical procedures,"Hausen added.
Cardica will also use the commercial version of the device in the remaining patients enrolled in its European clinical trial designed to support US regulatory clearance of the XCHANGE 30.