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AXIS-SHIELD INTRODUCES DIAGNOSTIC KIT FOR DVT

June 8, 2006

Medical device firm Axis-Shield has added a new test to detect deep vein thrombosis (DVT) to its portfolio, the company reported. The company is developing 12 new DVT tests under its own brand name for Abbott Laboratories' automated diagnostics kit AxSYM.

The Axis-Shield test detects D-dimer, a blood coagulation marker, which is raised in cases of both deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

DVT is a blood clot that develops in a deep vein, usually in the lower leg. In most cases of DVT, the clots are small and do not cause any symptoms. The body is able to gradually break down the clot and there are no long-term effects, but in less common cases it can lodge in the lung and is potentially fatal.