In recent years, many medical device companies saw the underserved lower extremity as an opportunity to enter the market for peripheral artery disease (PAD) treatments. For this reason, device innovation and clinical trials in this segment have been robust.
Drug-eluting balloons (DEBs) may offer new options in treating peripheral vessels and restenosis. DEBs already offer an alternative treatment tool in Europe, and the first DEB clinical trial in the United States is expected to begin later this year.
Several paclitaxel drug-eluting balloons (DEBs) are currently available on the European market, and several others are in development. There are currently no DEBs available in the United States.
As intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) becomes a more common tool in cath labs to assess lesions and stent treatments, new innovations loom on the horizon. These tools include forward-looking IVUS and a combination IVUS/balloon catheter.
There were many unique technologies showcased at the recent American College of Cardiology (ACC) 2010 Scientific Sessions, which may impact the practice of cardiology in the near future.
Voice Recognition, Structured Reporting
Monitoring congestive heart failure patients for any worsening in their condition is based mainly on patient compliance to accurately weigh themselves every day and report any unusual symptoms.
New U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indications for two key heart failure device therapies may help improve survival, slow the progress of the disease and, in some cases, reverse its progression.
Atherectomy is a key treatment option in peripheral artery disease (PAD), and several physicians Diagnostic & Invasive Cardiology recently spoke with are fans of the laser over mechanical systems in most PAD cases. They say it is easier to use and eliminates the need for an embolic protection device, but it does have limitations when treating calcified lesions.
Early defibrillation is often referred to as the “critical link in the chain of survival,” according to the American Heart Association (AHA). But even in a hospital setting, the time from when a person suffers cardiac arrest to when they undergo defibrillation varies widely.
The importance of dealing with the epidemic of coronary artery disease (CAD) is well known, and the tools at our disposal to accurately recognize and manage it are evolving in very positive ways.
A quiet revolution is going on in the world of patient risk stratification. It is becoming increasingly apparent that, while sudden cardiac death (SCD) manifests in the heart, it is triggered by the brain via the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Techniques taking this into account have the potential to be far more accurate and robust than other existing methods.
