Retrievable Inferior Vena Cava Filter Available

A new self-centering inferior vena cava (IVC) filter can be deployed or removed in less than 5 minutes.

The Crux IVC filter is used to prevent pulmonary embolism (PE), a potentially fatal condition arising from blood clots forming in the legs, known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The new low profile IVC provides unique self-centering and ease of retrieval, and has been successfully tested in animal studies. Clinical trials in humans began in March 2007. The Crux IVC is under development by Crux Biomedical (Portola Valley, CA, USA)

"Devices that are tilted in the cava can take hours to capture and retrieve, and some cannot be retrieved at all,” said Dr. Frank Arko, co-founder of Crux and chief of endovascular surgery at University of Texas Southwestern (Dallas, USA). "The Crux filter addresses these issues because it self-centers automatically and can be easily retrieved from either jugular or femoral access.”

"It's also worth noting that each retrieval was performed by a different physician,” added Dr.Arko. "And in every case, it was the physician's first attempt to retrieve the device. Considering this, the fact that the team achieved 100% retrieval success
was very encouraging. I was amazed at how easy these devices were to remove at five weeks post-implant.”

IVCs are increasingly being used as a result of increased diagnosis of DVT and the protection that they afford in cases of trauma and orthopedic surgeries.


Related Links:
Crux Biomedical
University of Texas Southwestern