Coated Dialysis Catheter Reduces Thrombus Formation

A new catheter for patients on long-term hemodialysis prevents thrombus accumulation with the aid of a biomimetic coating that discourages clot formation.

The Duraspan biomimetic coated-hemodialysis catheter is intended for both short and long term (over 30 days) vascular access for hemodialysis, hemoperfusion, or apheresis therapy. Access is attained via the internal jugular vein, external jugular vein, subclavian vein, or femoral vein. The hemodialysis catheter is covered with novel surface coating on both the inner and outer surfaces that mimics the glycocalyx layer found on natural endothelial tissue surfaces in vessel walls, thereby reducing thrombus accumulation by 87%. Additional features include staggered tip spacing for reduced recirculation and a reverse-cut proximal lumen designed to maintain patency even when flush with the vessel wall. The catheter also includes a white retention cuff for tissue ingrowth, used to anchor the catheter.


To reduce recirculation and deliver a high rate of flow (exceeding 500 mL/minute), the catheter takes advantage of cardiovascular blood flow dynamics; the distal aperture returns blood to the right atrium, while the proximal opening draws blood from the superior vena cava. For easier identification, the proximal lumen is marked by a red connector and the distal lumen (blood return) is marked by a blue connector. The catheter comes in two versions: the Duraspan with a 3.5 cm tip stagger, and the Duraspan Ultra with a 7 cm tip stagger, each available in multiple lengths for patient specificity. The Duraspan and Duraspan Ultra Catheters are products of r4 Vascular (Maple Grove, MN, USA).

"Physicians have long thought that if one was able to make the catheter less recognizable as a foreign object in the body it could revolutionize catheter-based hemodialysis,” said Don Geer, president and CEO of r4 Vascular. "Developing the catheter, r4 Vascular engineers utilized stealth coating technologies, approaching the thrombus problem by camouflaging the catheter in a biomimetic coating.”

Studies have shown almost 30% of prevalent hemodialysis patients use catheters for vascular access, despite the fact that catheter complications are a major cause of morbidity and mortality for hemodialysis patients and increase the burden on the health care system.

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r4 Vascular