Medtronic said that it has designed its new Telescope guide extension catheter to provide additional backup support and access to distal lesions.
The guide extension catheters are used in delivering coronary stents, balloons and other interventional devices during angioplasty procedures to help restore blood flow through the coronary and peripheral arteries.
The company said that many of the interventional cardiologists are increasingly challenged with complex cases like patients with tortuous anatomies, calcified vessels, and distal lesions.
The new Telescope guide extension catheter is expected to provide operators with better deliverability and is designed to enable smooth delivery of interventional devices in more challenging cases.
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital director Ajay Kirtane said: “It is not an exaggeration to say that guide extension technologies have greatly impacted the ability to deliver devices to the distal coronary vasculature, especially for cases where traditional guide support may be limited.
“In this light, the Telescope – a guide extension catheter with specific design optimizations aiming to stably deliver devices through tortuous anatomy – is a welcome addition to the interventional toolbox.”
Medtronic said that the Telescope guide extension catheter features a solid, round pushwire with a coil-reinforced hydrophilic-coated distal segment to reach challenging lesions with improved pushability and deliverability.
The new device also includes a flexible TruFlex soft polymer tip, which is intended to responsively bend and deflect during use.
In addition, once the catheter is in position near the target lesion, SmoothPass technology helps to smoothly channel stents, balloons, and other interventional devices into place.
Medtronic coronary and renal denervation business vice president and general manager Dave Moeller said: “Before bringing this important technology to market, we collaborated with more than 700 interventional cardiologists to ensure Telescope was addressing unmet needs in complex PCI.
“We will continue to make investments in cutting edge interventional technologies, clinical evidence expansion, and robust physician training programs, which we believe will make a meaningful difference for physicians and their patients.”
