First Guiding Catheter To Successfully Enable Administration Of Medicine Directly To The Coronary Artery Throughout The Course Of A PCI

Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Article Date: 05 Sep 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Hadasit, the technology transfer company of Hadassah Medical Organization, announced today the successful pre-clinical testing of a prototype of the Double Lumen PCI Guiding Catheter for use in the treatment of coronary artery disease. Unlike today's conventional catheters, the Double Lumen PCI Guiding Catheter has two lumens rather than one. The second lumen allows for a continuous medication infusion to the coronary artery during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), the part of the procedure when the narrowed coronary artery is dilated.

"An animal study was conducted to determine the proof of concept of this device. It was successful," said David Rott, M.D., FACC, Cardiologist at Hadassah Hospital.

As reported by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women. Each year, more than five hundred thousand Americans die from CAD.

"There are currently only two options by which to give necessary medications, such as anti platelets or anti coagulants, to a patient during a coronary artery procedure. The first is by IV; the second is by interrupting the procedure and giving injections through a conventional one lumen catheter. With the introduction of the Double Lumen PCI Guiding Catheter, medications can now be delivered directly to the coronary artery without interrupting the procedure and without needing to wait for it to arrive through the blood stream from the IV. This may improve the results of and decrease the dose of medications administered, as necessary drugs may now be dispensed straight to the target area," said Dr. Rott.

"The potential impact of this device is far reaching. The Double Lumen PCI Guiding Catheter has potential to change existing coronary artery PCI protocol for the better and to positively affect millions of patients worldwide. The next step is to build a prototype for use in a proof of concept study in man. Hadasit is currently seeking partners to help finance this initiative," said Dr. Rafi Hofstein, President and CEO of Hadasit.

About Hadasit

Hadasit, the Technology Transfer Company of Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) in Jerusalem, Israel, promotes and commercializes HMO's continuously generated intellectual property (IP) and R&D capabilities. IP generated by HMO has already gained global recognition due to Hadasit's successful enterprising of Hadassah's biomedical technology, including novel therapeutics, diagnostics and devices.

Hadasit