Ken Park, Product Development Manager said: “Our brief was to develop the most deliverable stent on the market, and we have achieved this through a complete overhaul of each aspect of the product”. Unlike most competitor stents, which offer only one or two designs to cater for all diameters, each diameter of the SolarFlex has a unique cellular structure, thereby enabling the lowest possible delivery profile and optimal vessel wall support at each size. The 2.5mm stent sets the tone with an ultra-low profile of 0.84mm (0.033”). Deliverability of the stent has been further enhanced by increasing stent flexibility by 50%.
A total re-design of the delivery catheter complements the new implant. The distal tip has been softened and slimmed down which, together with lower profile and more flexible balloon-catheter bonds, provides for considerably improved navigation through tortuous lesions. Pushability of the catheter is improved by a newly designed hypotube and transition zone. Together with the new hydrophilic coating, these features ensure high fidelity transmission of movement to the distal part of the system. The result is that the SolarFlex requires half the force to track through a simulated tortuous anatomy when compared to major competitors.
The SolarFlex stent forms the platform for the company’s Stellium low-dose drug-eluting stent, which is currently under development.
The new stent will be available in a full range of sizes and lengths.
