Catheter for clogged arteries wins US approval:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The FDA has approved a new catheter-based device for clearing blocked coronary arteries which could reduce the damage caused to vessel walls during the procedure. The Contour catheter device, made by the small Irvine, California-based company CardioVascular Dynamics, uses a balloon which inflates non-uniformly so that it matches the shape of the vessel. It can also be used with other cardiac devices such as stents and rotational atherectomy. The device for which approval came several months earlier than expected, will be distributed to selected customers in the third quarter of 1998.