A novel medical device technology to treat narrowed or obstructed blood vessels invented by UL researchers has been licensed to Galway-based medical devices company, Clada Medical.
Developed by biomedical engineers at the University of Limerick the device will improve success rates in angioplasty procedures. It is estimated that over 1 million angioplasty procedures are undertaken worldwide each year and the value of products relating to this procedure is in the region of €500million.
Angioplasty is the technique of mechanically widening a narrowed or obstructed blood vessel. During this treatment particles of the fatty deposits can become dislodged and enter the blood stream which can block other arteries resulting in strokes or heart attacks. Embolic protection devices are often used to capture and remove the dislodged fatty deposits.
Dr Michael Walsh, principal investigator and lead inventor explains; “This device combines angioplasty balloon and embolic protection technologies allowing for continuous blood flow during the procedure. In practice, this means the angioplasty balloon can be left in a full inflated state in the artery for a longer period of time than is currently possible. This will increase the efficiency of the angioplasty procedure and offers significant potential as a platform for drug-device combinations.”