The Food and Drug Administration approved VentureMed Group's new surgical device to treat peripheral artery disease.
John Pigott, MD, founder of Toledo, Ohio-based VentureMed Group, invented the FLEX Scoring Catheter, which allows intervention physicians to treat patients with severely blocked arteries who might not benefit from traditional balloon-based procedures.
The device contains three precision microblades located on the tip of the catheter. When the device is inserted into a clogged artery, these blades make tiny scores in the plaque. Once these score are made, a surgeon can then inflate an angioplasty balloon to open up the artery and allow blood to flow freely.
The FLEX Scoring Catheter allows for fewer dissections to be made and shows improved results at the end of the procedure.
"FLEX deploys quickly and is easy to use, saving the interventionalist procedural time. Priced at a third of the cost of similar devices, it is an excellent vessel preparation tool for use with balloon angioplasty," said Gary Smith, CEO of VentureMed Group.
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