May 21, 2019 – Medtronic plc announced its entrance into the guide extension catheter market with the global launch of the Telescope Guide Extension Catheter. The newly designed catheter is used to provide additional backup support and access to distal lesions. Guide extension catheters help deliver coronary stents, balloons and other interventional devices during angioplasty procedures that help to restore blood flow through the coronary and peripheral arteries.
Developed alongside interventional cardiologists, many of whom are increasingly challenged with complex cases – such as patients with tortuous anatomies, calcified vessels and distal lesions – the Telescope guide extension catheter provides operators with superior deliverability according to the company,1 and is designed to enable smooth delivery of interventional devices in more challenging cases.
“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,” said Ajay Kirtane, M.D., SM, director of the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories. “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.”
Watch the VIDEO: What Went Wrong With the Absorb Stent?, an interview with Kirtane.
The Telescope guide extension catheter combines a solid, round pushwire with a coil-reinforced, hydrophilic-coated distal segment to help physicians reach challenging lesions with improved pushability and deliverability.2 Telescope also features a flexible TruFlex soft polymer tip, which is designed to responsively bend and deflect during use. In addition, once Telescope is in position near the target lesion, SmoothPass technology helps to smoothly channel stents, balloons and other interventional devices into place.
In addition to the Telescope guide extension catheter, Medtronic’s coronary portfolio includes the latest-generation Resolute Onyx Drug-Eluting Stent (DES), the Euphora line of pre- and post-dilatation balloon catheters, and a full suite of catheters including the DxTerity TRA Diagnostic Catheter and Launcher Guide Catheter. The entire portfolio is commercially available in the U.S., as well as throughout Europe.
For more information: www.medtronic.com
Related Guidewire Content
VIDEO: Basics of Interventional Guidewire Design and Function
Understanding the Design and Function of Guidewire Technology
References
1. Deliverability bench testing: Telescope GEC 6 F vs. GuideLiner V3 5.5 F/6 F vs. Guidezilla II 6F. Bench test data. Bench test data may not be indicative of clinical performance.
2. Deliverability bench testing: Telescope GEC 6 F vs. GuideLiner V3 5.5 F/6 F vs. Guidezilla II 6 F. Pushability bench testing: Telescope GEC 6 F vs. GuideLiner V3 6 F vs. Guidezilla II 6 F. Bench test data may not be indicative of clinical performance.
November 14, 2025 
