In a live case transmitted from The Heart Center Leipzig/Park Hospital in Leipzig, Germany, a new drug-eluting balloon was used as part of a clinical trial during one of the live case demonstrations at the ISET 2009 International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy.

Advance PTX is designed to increase long-term patency in patients with peripheral arterial disease (P.A.D.) and is one of the first PTA balloon catheters to be coated with paclitaxel, an antiproliferative drug that has been used successfully to reduce the risk of arterial restenosis following angioplasty in coronary disease patients.

“Bringing together converging technologies — like devices with pharmaceuticals in the case of the Advance PTX balloon — is a critical step in developing advanced medical devices to improve outcomes in specific patient populations,” said Rob Lyles, vice president and global leader of Cook Medical’s peripheral intervention division.

Cook (cookmedical.com) also introduced several products from its line of diagnostic and peripheral interventional devices at ISET 2009, including its Approach CTO microwires. The Approach CTO microwires are the first .014-inch wires designed specifically for crossing chronic total occlusions and extremely tight lesions in the peripheral arteries, including the SFA, popliteal and tibial arteries.

“The Approach microwire line has several product features that address the challenging anatomy of the leg, an important step in the development of P.A.D. medical technology,” said Lyles. “This latest advancement illustrates Cook’s commitment to exploring every possible technology to treat P.A.D. At Cook, we continuously strive to improve the quality of our products and, in turn, improve the quality of patient outcomes.”

The microwires are the latest peripheral diagnostic products to support the complete Leg Therapy initiative from Cook, a comprehensive line of advanced minimally invasive access products and interventional devices that addresses the anatomical challenges of treating peripheral arterial disease in the legs. With the launch of the full Leg Therapy Program, Cook will deliver clinically effective interventional solutions to patients who need them most.