"When using a noncompliant balloon, deliverability and re-cross are important characteristics, especially when faced with challenging coronary anatomy," said Robert Gerber, F.R.C.P., Ph.D., consultant interventional cardiologist, Conquest Hospital Hastings and Eastbourne District General Hospital East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, and pre-clinical researcher for the NC Euphora balloon. "The NC Euphora balloon was designed to meet these demands and provide reliable performance with no tradeoffs in the moment that we need it most."
The NC Euphora Balloon Catheter offers clinicians several valuable features, according to Minneapolis, Minn.-based Medtronic, including:
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--- PowerTrac technology for superior deliverability through tight lesions and requires less force to track through tortuous anatomy;
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--- An optimized tapered tip design and low lesion entry profile that improves flexibility and allows for reliable stent re-cross when traversing long, challenging lesions so that the balloon does not catch on a strut when passing through a deployed stent;
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--- Strong, durable and flexible LIGHT (Low Inflation Growth, High Track) balloon material for high pressure capability, which enables NC Euphora to expand consistently within the stent area at a Rated Burst Pressure (the maximum pressure that the balloon can be repeatedly inflated in a safe manner) of up to 20 atmospheres without bursting;
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--- Superior growth profile with significantly low radial growth to reduce unwanted vessel expansion and low longitudinal growth beyond the stent length to minimize damage to the surrounding healthy artery; and
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Environmentally friendly packaging and a reduced box size that has a smaller footprint on congested shelves, a broad size range labeled clearly and intuitively, and accompanying educational opportunities.
"NC Euphora expands our interventional portfolio with another clinically-relevant tool that was developed with both interventionalists and cath lab teams' needs in mind," said Jason Weidman, vice president and general manager of Medtronic's coronary business. "With the addition of a premium non-compliant balloon, our interventional customers have a complement to the other innovative Medtronic offerings throughout the entire procedure for their most difficult and challenging cases."
Medtronic executives said NC Euphora expands the company's interventional portfolio of medical devices across coronary, renal denervation and transcatheter aortic-valve implantation. The device is the latest in a series of 12 new product introductions planned over the next two years.