Stanford University researchers are seeking patent protection for a medical device for performing endovascular surgical procedures, such as thrombectomy, rotablation, drug delivery and treating brain aneurysms. The device includes a magnetically actuated untethered rotation device, i.e., a magnetic spinner, that can navigate in blood vessels through its spinning-enabled propulsion.
That excruciating moment when patients learn their lives are potentially at risk to a “wide neck” brain aneurysm could be softened by results of a long-awaited international study led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School. According to lead author Adam Dmytriw, wide-neck aneurysms will respond better to the Woven Endobridge Web device than metal stents and blood thinners.
TORONTO – Fluid Biotech Inc. has raised $4.7 million in oversubscribed seed funding to further develop and commercialize the world's first hybrid polymer-metal flow-diverting brain stent for curing brain aneurysms that can lead to stroke. Following successful preclinical studies of the stent, attention now turns to applying this fresh capital to hiring contract manufacturers to prepare for first-in-human implantation and production of the mostly polymer-constructed stent.
The U.S. FDA has granted breakthrough device designation to Cerus Endovascular Ltd. for its Contour neurovascular system for the treatment of intracranial aneurysms. The company is targeting the second or third quarter of this year for the start of its IDE clinical trial.
Medtronic plc said Monday that it has expanded its limited site release of its new radial artery access portfolio. Acquired from Rist Neurovascular Inc. last year, the portfolio includes the Rist 079 Radial Access guide catheter and Rist Radial Access selective catheter. Dublin-based Medtronic completed its acquisition of privately held Rist Neurovascular in August 2020 for an undisclosed sum – the eighth in a series of tuck-in deals the med-tech behemoth has undertaken since January 2020.
Stryker Corp. has launched its Surpass Evolve flow diverter following an earlier U.S. FDA approval. According to the company, it is the first 64-wire cobalt chromium flow diverter in the U.S. designed to redirect blood flow and promote aneurysm healing. Ajay Wakhloo, the first physician to complete a commercial case in the U.S., noted that the offering builds on Stryker’s Surpass Streamline. “By increasing the braid angle, the novel 64-wire device delivers excellent flow diversion and a highly flexible implant for enhanced vessel wall contact. The higher mesh density of Surpass Evolve vs. traditional 48-wire flow diverters may lead to faster aneurysm occlusion for patients," Wakhloo said.
The U.S. FDA expanded the indications for Stryker Corp.’s Neuroform Atlas stent system to include use in the posterior circulation or back of the brain, making the device the only adjunctive stent approved for aneurysms in this challenging location. The Kalamazoo, Mich.-based company’s intracranial coil-assist stent gained its initial indication for the more common aneurysms in the anterior circulation of the neurovasculature in May 2019.
The U.S. has granted final approval to Microvention Inc., a subsidiary of Terumo Corp. based in Aliso Viejo, Calif., for its Flow Redirection Endoluminal Device (FRED) for the treatment of brain aneurysms. The flow diverter – Microvention’s third PMA approval in less than two years – is the first in the U.S. to utilize a self-expanding, braided nitinol mesh to aid in rerouting blood flow away from the weakened area and promote occlusion.