When an acute ischemic stroke occurs, time begins to work against the person: a blood clot blocks a vessel, the brain stops receiving blood normally, and doctors have only a few hours left. In Russia, a new microcatheter has been developed for such cases – an ultra-thin instrument that helps guide the device to the site of the blockage and makes clot removal less traumatic for the vessels. The development was created by the Angioline group of companies in the Novosibirsk science city of Koltsovo. The company's founder, Alexey Frantsuzov, revealed the details.
Previously, the company developed a thrombectomy device. The device is used for mechanical removal of blood clots from blood vessels. In other words, doctors need not just to prescribe medication, but to physically reach the blockage and remove the clot that has blocked blood flow.
This is where the microcatheter is important. It is needed to guide the instrument through the vessels as carefully as possible. The vessels in such an area are very thin and vulnerable, so any unnecessary damage can become a serious problem. The new development should help reduce this risk.
The main feature of the device is its flexible distal part. As Frantsuzov explained, it is made of a special polyurethane tube. Thanks to this design, the catheter should pass more smoothly through the vessel and help doctors work more precisely.
Before this, according to the company representative, foreign analogues were used for such tasks. Now, the developers expect to bring a domestic solution to the market. The device itself has already been created, and the company is currently collecting the necessary documents for medical device registration.
More and more domestic devices for intravascular operations without large surgical incisions are gradually appearing in Russia. For example, R-Vascular also develops its own solutions for treating brain vessels. Its product line includes the Grasper stent retriever for clot removal, as well as microcatheters and aspiration catheters for intravascular work.