A wide international audience of endovascular specialists viewed a live case procedure during the 21st annual International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy (ISET) concluding that delivering clot busting drugs with an ultrasound-enhanced delivery system could reduce the amount of drugs needed to break up dangerous blood clots in the legs and pelvis. 

 Constantino Peña, MD, an interventional radiologist at Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute in Miami, Fla., treated a 74-year-old male with a blocked leg artery.  Dr. Peña delivered the drug Tenecteplase (TNK) to the clot via the EkoSonic Mach 4 system.  Experts reported that the clot completely dissolved within 12 hours.    

 
Dr. Peña said that the amount of TNK used to dissolve the clot was half what is typically used. Barry Katzen, MD, founder and medical director of Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute, emphasized that lowering the amount of drug needed to dissolve clots can significantly reduce the risk of major bleeding.  

Robert W. Hubert, president and CEO of EKOS Corp., said, “Clearly the outcome is exciting but no surprise. The recently introduced EKOS second-generation system was specifically designed to decrease drug dosage and shorten time for complete clot dissolution, providing physicians with greater clinical confidence.  What is also noteworthy is that unlike mechanical devices, EKOS technology does not fracture the thrombus or damage red blood cells.

“The EkoSonic Endovascular System with Rapid Pulse Modulation Technology is four times faster than conventional catheter-directed thrombolysis,” concluded Hubert.

EKOS (ekoscorp.com) pioneered the development and clinical application of microsonic technologies in medicine, introducing its first system for the treatment of vascular thrombosis in 2005.

Today, interventional radiologists, cardiologists and vascular surgeons at leading institutions across the nation use EKOS MicroSonic Accelerated Thrombolysis (MSAT) to provide faster, safer and more complete dissolution of thrombus. In 2008, the company introduced the second-generation EkoSonic Endovascular System with Rapid Pulse Modulation.
The EkoSonic System is FDA-cleared for controlled and selective infusion of physician-specified fluids, including thrombolytics, into the peripheral vasculature. It is currently used to treat patients with peripheral arterial occlusions (PAO) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and additional applications are being investigated.  In addition, the system has the CE mark and is distributed internationally for neurological applications.

Venous thromboembolism and chronic venous insufficiency
Venous thromboembolism and chronic venous insufficiency continue to be associated with high mortality and major morbidity in the United States.

Each year more than 700,000 patients in the United States develop blood clots (thrombus) in the arteries (peripheral arterial occlusions or PAO) and veins (deep vein thrombosis or DVT) of their arms or legs. Often the clot resolves itself or can be treated with medication such as blood thinners. 

However, because blood thinners prevent but do not actively remove clots, many DVT patients treated with blood thinners alone develop Post Thrombotic Syndrome (PTS). This condition is thought to result from damage to the delicate venous valves when exposed to the occluding blood clot for time periods greater than a few weeks.