Cambridge Heart Inc. (NSDQ:CAMH) used a series of cost-cutting measures to offset slumping sales during 2009, as it looked to revamp the way it does business.

Officials at the Tewskbury, Mass.-based company reported sales of $802,000 for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2009, a 20 percent decrease from the same period in 2008. Cost-cutting efforts employed by the company since the first quarter of 2009, when it laid off about 33 percent of its workforce, continued to work out for Cambridge Heart. Net losses during the fourth quarter narrowed some 42 percent, going from $2.9 million during the fourth quarter of 2008 to $1.7 million during the just-ended quarter.

The trend continued for the year, as Cambridge Heart narrowed its net losses to $7.4 million on $3 million in sales, compared to $10 million in losses on $4 million in sales during 2008.

The sales slump will likely continue until the company completes the transition of its microvolt T-wave alternans test from a stand-alone product into one that can be used in conjunction with other equipment.

Nearly nine months ago, Cambridge Heart announced plans to shift gears and market an OEM version of the MTWA technology to other manufacturers as a way to boost slumping sales of a product it says can determine the risk of sudden heart attack.

The company has since filed a 510(k) clearance application with the Food & Drug Administration and will launch the OEM version with Cardiac Science Corp. (NSDQ:CSCX) in the third quarter of 2010, according to the earnings release.