Boston Scientific has added 22 new balloon sizes to the PolarCath Peripheral Dilatation System, including balloon lengths of 120 and 150 mm to provide physicians more options for treating peripheral artery disease.
Boston said that the PolarCath System is used to restore blood flow in patients with critical limb ischemia (severe blockages in the arteries below the knee) and blockages in the femoral and popliteal (behind the knee) arteries.
The new PolarCath 120 and 150 mm balloons are available in both 0.014-inch and 0.035-inch guidewire-compatible platforms. The PolarCath System also offers balloon lengths of 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 mm.
CryoPlasty Therapy is a novel form of balloon angioplasty delivered by the PolarCath System that cools the inside of occluded arteries in the legs while opening the blockages. The technology uses nitrous oxide to fill an angioplasty balloon within a blocked artery, cooling the balloon’s surface to -10 degrees Centigrade. As it is inflated, the cold surface of the balloon cools and dilates the vascular lesion.
According to Boston, in the Below-The-Knee (BTK) CHILL study of patients with blockages in the arteries below the knee, CryoPlasty Therapy resulted in a high rate of limb salvage in patients with critical limb ischemia. Boston Scientific is the only company to offer CryoPlasty Therapy.
Tony Das, director of peripheral vascular interventions at the Presbyterian Heart Institute in Dallas, said: “The expanded portfolio of PolarCath balloons will enable interventionalists to address longer lesions in the femoral and subfemoral arteries, often more efficiently than using several shorter balloons. The PolarCath System also offers the potential benefits of CryoPlasty Therapy for these complex lesions.”