Medtronic Debuts Stedi Guidewire to Support TAVR

At this year’s Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) conference, Medtronic launched the Stedi Extra Support guidewire, which was engineered to boost the performance of its Evolut transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) platform and is compatible with all commercially available TAVR systems.

The Evolut TAVR is a minimally invasive solutions for patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis across all risk categories. According to Medtronic, the new Stedi guidewire provides more support for stability, safety, and predictability during valve deployment without needing to change the implant technique.

Stedi combines a stiff proximal main body, gradual stiffness transition, and a distal curve designed for stability, predictability, and safety. Tanvir J. Bajwa, MD, an interventional cardiologist at Advocate Health said the Stedi guidewire represents a meaningful advancement in TAVR.

“It enhances stability and predictability during valve deployment, especially when paired with techniques like simplified cusp overlap, and reinforces procedural consistency with the Evolut platform,” Dr. Bajwa told the press. “This innovation supports more predictable outcomes and the precision we strive for in treating patients with severe aortic stenosis.”

Stedi was bench tested in a simulated anatomy and showed that during deployment, when compared to less supportive wires with the Evolut TAVR, reduces ventricular movement, improves stability, and has a more coaxial deployment. When used with the cusp overlap technique, extra support guidewires were found to be associated with lower rates of a permanent pacemaker implant at 30 days.

“We continue to build a meaningful portfolio of procedural solutions which improve long-term outcomes for patients with aortic stenosis and advance the future of TAVR,” said Jorie Soskin, vice president and general manager of Medtronic’s Structural Heart business. “The Stedi guidewire is a complementary addition to our growing TAVR portfolio—purposefully designed to meet the evolving needs of physicians today and for the future, delivering enhanced stability and predictability while seamlessly integrating into existing Evolut workflows. Its thoughtful design supports procedural precision that can help drive improved patient-specific outcomes.”