Extraction Catheter Rapidly Removes Thrombus
By HospiMedica staff writers
Posted on 23 Aug 2006
A disposable extraction catheter combines a high level of deliverability and ease of use with rapid and reliable thrombus removal. Posted on 23 Aug 2006
The QuickCat is a single use, disposable dual-lumen catheter for the removal of fresh soft emboli and thrombi from arterial blood vessels. The catheter is designed with a flexible, smooth, tapered distal end and an increasingly stiffer proximal end to allow for excellent pushability and atraumatic passage of the arterial system. The distal end of the catheter contains a hydrophilic coating and a 10-cm wire lumen for minimum drag and easy advancement through tortuous vessels. A radiopaque marker is placed approximately 1 mm from the tip.
The new catheter has a working length of 145 cm, has the lowest crossing profile (4.5F) of all current aspiration catheters, and is compatible with the smallest 6F guide catheters. Despite the lower profile, the catheter has high thrombus extraction efficiency. A uniform extraction lumen minimizes "bottle-necking,” resulting in a low incidence of clogging. The catheter has been approved by both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Commission (EC).
The catheter is supplied with a vacuum assembly, which consists of an 18-cm extension tubing, one way stopcock, and a 30-ml vacuum syringe with an adjustable locking plunger. A 40-micron pore filter basket is provided to assist in filtering blood and thrombotic materials for analysis.
The QuickCat is made by Kensey Nash (Exton, PA, USA), and is expected to complement the company's ThromCat thrombectomy catheter system, a mechanical device that uses proprietary technology to remove more organized thrombi, currently under regulatory review in the European Union (EU).
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Kensey Nash