FFR Guidewire Improves Percutaneous Coronary Interventions

An improved guidewire provides physicians with fractional flow reserve (FFR) measurements in order to gauge narrowed coronary arteries.

The St. Jude Medical (SJM; St. Paul, MN, USA) PressureWire X Guidewire Measurement System has been redesigned to adapt to unique, complex anatomies in order to support more accurate lesion assessment during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The tip of the guidewire can be shaped and re-shaped throughout the PCI procedure, enabling access to multiple lesions. The guidewire also provides enhanced durability and improved handling, in either a cabled or wireless configuration.

Concomitant to the launching the latest PressureWire X Guidewire iteration, SJM has also launched the PRESSUREwire multicenter clinical trial in order to determine the routine use of FFR measurement and clinical outcomes of FFR-guided PCI in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), a major cause of global morbidity and mortality. The PRESSUREwire REGISTRY will build upon clinical trials designed to assess the positive outcomes associated with FFR technology.

“St. Jude Medical strives to provide physicians with fractional flow reserve pressure guidewire technology that is backed by ample clinical data, and that matches the handling performance of conventional PCI guidewires,” said Mark Carlson, MD, chief medical officer and vice president of global medical affairs at St. Jude Medical. “The new PressureWire X Guidewire shows our dedication to providing physicians with cost-effective, easy-to-use technologies that aid them in making the best treatment decisions for their patients.”

“Clinical research has confirmed that fractional flow reserve is one of the most important tools available when assessing coronary lesions and making informed treatment decisions during percutaneous coronary intervention,” said Annapoorna Kini, MD, director of the cardiac catheterization lab at Mount Sinai Medical Center (New York, NY, USA). “The improved design and shape retention of the new PressureWire X Guidewire tip allows us to perform FFR measurements in more tortuous anatomies.”

FFR is a physiological index used to determine the hemodynamic severity of atherosclerotic narrowing of the coronary arteries. It specifically identifies which coronary narrowing is responsible for the ischemic obstruction of the flow of blood to a patient’s heart muscle, and helps guide interventional cardiologists in determining which lesions warrant stenting, resulting in improved patient outcomes and reduced health care costs.

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