Catheter News and Research

RSS

In medicine, a catheter is a tube that can be inserted into a body cavity, duct, or vessel. Catheters . In most uses, a catheter is a thin, flexible tube ("soft" catheter), though in some uses, it is a larger, solid ("hard") catheter. A catheter left inside the body, either temporarily or permanently, may be referred to as an indwelling catheter. A permanently inserted catheter may be referred to as a permcath.

Corkscrew-like device that removes blood clots from the brains of stroke sufferers

The device "appears fairly safe and has the potential to make dramatic differences in stroke therapy," said Wayne Clark, M.D., professor of neurology and director of the Oregon Stroke Center.

18 Aug 2004

Catheter delivered devices may be just as effective as drug therapy in treating strokes of unidentified origin

A percutaneous catheter procedure to correct a heart abnormality caused by an open patent foramen ovale (PFO), a flap that should be closed in an adult heart, may be just as effective as drug therapy in treating patients who have had strokes of unidentified origin, perhaps caused by this condition.

18 Aug 2004

Blood vessel plug - amplatzer ductal occluder, performs well in trial

In the largest and longest trial yet of a device called the Amplatzer ductal occluder, a duct that shunts blood flow away from the lungs during fetal development but sometimes fails to close after birth, was successfully closed in almost all patients, according to a new study in the Aug. 4, 2004, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

5 Aug 2004

Smart drug that targets cancer cells in the brain following removal of a tumor

The use of a "smart" drug that targets cancer cells in the brain following removal of a tumor may provide treatment that can extend the survival of people with the most common form of primary malignant brain tumor, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

3 Aug 2004

Preliminary tests of the new method, which can detect cancer in a sample with as few as 50 cells

Finding cancer in a tiny drop of body fluid containing relatively few cells now may be possible with a new method of analyzing multiple genes in small samples of DNA, the cellular building blocks of our genetic code.

23 Jul 2004

Radial artery appears to be a safe alternative to femoral artery for catheter procedures

Instead of threading catheters from the femoral artery in the groin, cardiologists can safely use the radial artery in the arm to gain access to coronary arteries for angioplasty, stent placement, and other procedures

22 Jul 2004

Physician task force sets out knowledge criteria for clinicians who want to consider themselves experts in this growing field

New set of competency criteria for physicians who wish to practice vascular medicine and catheter-based peripheral vascular interventions.

17 Jul 2004

New type of cryogenic catheter

A U.S. clinical study is just getting under way that, if successful, could lead to a non-surgical "cure" for the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia. The study is evaluating a new type of cryogenic catheter co-developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

16 Jul 2004

Investigation of glue as an embolic agent

Although embolization has been used for over 20 years to treat trauma victims with massive bleeding and to control hemorrhage after childbirth instead of emergency hysterectomy, the investigation of glue as an embolic agent is new.

13 Jul 2004

Before a woman decides to undergo a hysterectomy she should find out about uterine fibroid embolization

Before a woman decides to undergo a hysterectomy she should carefully explore all of her options. Many of these conditions can be successfully treated with alternative methods and procedures.

1 Jul 2004

Innovative research to apply microwave energy to the treatment of potentially deadly heart rhythm disorders

Innovative research by UTS engineers to apply microwave energy to the treatment of potentially deadly heart rhythm disorders has received an important boost from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

30 Jun 2004

Repeating balloon angioplasty and/or stenting procedures in elderly patients add more than $700 million a year to Medicare expenses

Repeating balloon angioplasty and/or stenting procedures to open narrowed arteries in elderly patients may add more than $700 million a year to Medicare expenses, according to a report in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

29 Jun 2004

New heart surgery without opening chest

Thoracic surgeon Daniel Bethencourt, MD, one of the few cardiac surgeons to cure atrial fibrillation (rapid, irregular heartbeat) without opening the patient's chest, will perform endoscopic microwave ablation to treat atrial fibrillation in a 59-year-old man

29 Jun 2004

Partial breast radiation procedure may benefit cancer patients

Some women with breast cancer who prefer breast conserving surgery consisting of lumpectomy and radiation may choose a procedure that delivers radiation to the malignant tumor and not to the entire breast

23 Jun 2004

Stents designed with thinner and fewer linkages may be the basis of a new generation of stents

An investigation of how blood flows through stents after opening clogged arteries has led a team of researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin Cardiovascular Center in Milwaukee to suggest that stents designed with thinner and fewer linkages may be the basis of a new generation of stents.

23 Jun 2004

Minimally invasive procedure provides new childbirth hope

Beauty therapist, Jo Anastasio, who suffers from an extremely rare blood vessel abnormality, was told that she couldn’t have children and that her only option was a hysterectomy.

21 Jun 2004

Aggressive treatment of brain blood clots can produce a good outcome for many stroke patients

In the study, published in a recent issue of the journal Neurosurgery, 50 percent of stroke patients had little or no neurological disability one to three months after clot-dissolving medication was delivered directly to the site of the blockages, compared to 39 percent of patients with similarly good outcomes documented in a large national trial of intravenous (IV) drug treatment for stroke.

21 Jun 2004

High resolution imaging greatly aids physicians treating irregular heart beats

The findings of a new study published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology demonstrate that the use of high resolution imaging can greatly aid physicians who are treating patients suffering from a particular type of irregular heart beat.

15 Jun 2004

Textured titanium medical implants may be better than smooth ones

Medical implants – from catheters that deliver long-term life support to joint replacements – may work better when their surfaces are on the rough side, new research suggests.

14 Jun 2004

The once youngest person in the world to survive a heart by-pass operation is expecting her 2nd child

Lorraine Stone was born with heart disease. When just three days old she was the youngest person in the world at that time to survive a heart by-pass operation. Since then she has had five major heart operations. Miraculously, at the age 29, she is expecting to give birth to her second child in July.

10 Jun 2004