Looking Inside Arteries

Pantheris Full Flair
Interventional cardiologists at the University of California-San Diego’s cardiovascular center are the first in the nation to use a new surgical catheter that allows the surgeon to see inside an artery of the leg or foot while routing out plaque deposits. The catheter, called a “Pantheris Lumivascular atherectomy” device from maker Avinger (Redwood City, CA), has “a fiber optic camera the size of a grain of salt on the tip, [and] is fed through a small incision in the groin that does not require full anesthesia. Once inside, the interventional cardiologist is able to see exactly what needs to be removed without damaging the artery wall, which can cause further narrowing.” This should become highly useful in treating peripheral artery disease, but cannot be applied to iliac, coronary, cerebra, renal or carotid vasculature. MORE
Image Credit: Avinger Pantheris