Blue Medical launches drug-eluting balloon
Cardiovascular specialist releases treatment option for coronary in-stent restenosis
Cardiovascular device specialist, Blue Medical, has announced the launch of its CE-approved drug eluting balloon (DEB), Protégé.
Pitching itself against market leaders including B Braun, Eurocar and Invatec, Blue Medical hopes its devices will become widely used in the treatment of coronary in-stent restenosis, which occurs when blockages appear at a site where bare metal stents (BMS) or drug eluting stents (DES) have been implanted into the blood vessel.
As reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, the incidence of in-stent restenosis ranges from 5%-35% following the implantation of a BMS, while the incidence rate is somewhat lower for a DES.
Interventional cardiologists often treat in-stent restenosis by introducing an additional stent inside the occluded stent, but DEBs look to be a rising alternative in the EU.
Through the use of a catheter, the DEB is introduced to the site of the blockage and is expanded to re-open the area. The Protégé balloons are coated with paclitaxel, an anti-proliferative drug which limits the growth of scar tissue at the site of the occlusion.
The combined device with a CoCr coronary stent delivers drugs during stent placement as a onetime shot only, instead of continuous drug delivery known from most existing drug eluting stents. This significantly reduces the period in which anti-platelet medication could be required.
