Catheter News and Research

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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.

Minimally invasive treatments could target ‘hunger hormone’

A minimally invasive treatment may target hunger at its source, another uses X-ray visible embolic beads to block arteries to the stomach and suppress hunger and a third explores the use of stem cells to repair vertebral disc degeneration. Initial results from all these studies were reported at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 37th Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

26 Mar 2012

Percutaneous cryoablation freezes and destroys breast cancer tumors

Individuals fighting metastatic breast cancer, where the disease has progressed to other areas of the body, may finally have another weapon in their arsenal: percutaneous cryoablation.

26 Mar 2012

Minimally invasive endovascular treatment for CCSVI is safe in patients with MS

Researchers who investigated the connection between chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (a reported condition characterized as a blockage in the veins that drain blood from the brain and spinal cord and returns it to the heart) and multiple sclerosis indicate that a minimally invasive endovascular treatment for CCSVI, is safe and may produce "significant," short-term improvement in physical- and mental health-related quality of life in individuals with MS.

26 Mar 2012

Largest study to date to look at BMC therapy in patients with heart failure

Use of a patient's bone marrow cells for treating chronic ischemic heart failure did not result in improvement on most measures of heart function, according to a study appearing in JAMA. The study is being published early online to coincide with its presentation at the American College of Cardiology's annual scientific sessions.

26 Mar 2012

Endovascular aneurysm repair associated with lower mortality rates

A burst aneurysm in the abdominal aorta-the largest blood vessel in the body- is a deadly condition. In fact, about half of these patients don't make it to the hospital in time. Those who do more often than not face open surgery to repair the blood vessel. This study finds that a minimally invasive interventional radiology treatment for ruptured aneurysms called endovascular aneurysm repair is safer than open surgical repair and is associated with lower mortality rates, say researchers Society of Interventional Radiology's 37th Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

26 Mar 2012

Nordion introduces new custom dose feature in Canada, Europe for TheraSphere

Nordion Inc., a leading provider of products and services for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, today launched a new custom dose feature in Europe and Canada for TheraSphere, Nordion's Y-90 microsphere treatment for liver cancer.

26 Mar 2012

Angioplasty safe for MS patients with venous abnormalities

Researchers report that performing angioplasty (a treatment that involves temporarily inserting and blowing up a tiny balloon inside a clogged artery to help widen it) on veins in the neck and chest is safe—and may be an effective way to treat the venous abnormalities found in those with multiple sclerosis and provide symptom relief.

26 Mar 2012

New embolization procedure may bring hope to men with enlarged prostate

A new interventional radiology treatment, prostatic artery embolization, may bring hope to men with debilitating symptoms caused by an enlarged prostate, say the group of researchers who pioneered its use.

26 Mar 2012

Medtronic announces results from two Symplicity system trials on treatment-resistant hypertension

Medtronic, Inc., announced that the Symplicity renal denervation system provides safe, significant and sustained blood pressure reduction up to three years in patients with treatment-resistant hypertension, according to data from two clinical trials presented at the 2012 American College of Cardiology (ACC) meeting.

From Medtronic 26 Mar 2012

New guidelines for CT-guided biopsies of lung nodules reduce radiation exposure

New guidelines for CT-guided biopsies of lung nodules significantly reduce radiation exposure allowing individuals the benefit of the procedure, which may cut down on overall lung cancer deaths.

26 Mar 2012

BiO2 Medical completes $13.7M Series B round of funding

BiO2 Medical, Inc., a Texas based medical device manufacturer with corporate offices in San Antonio, Texas, and R&D and manufacturing operations in Golden, Colorado, has recently completed its $13.7M Series B round of funding, which included the conversion of a $1M State of Texas Emerging Technology Fund (ETF) award.

26 Mar 2012

Cardium commences Generx Phase 3 registration study in myocardial ischemia

Cardium Therapeutics today announced the initiation of the ASPIRE Phase 3 registration study to evaluate the therapeutic effects of Cardium's lead product candidate, Generx (Ad5FGF-4) in patients with myocardial ischemia.

21 Mar 2012

Boston Scientific lauds private insurance reimbursement coverage for bronchial thermoplasty

Boston Scientific Corporation welcomes a milestone in private insurance reimbursement coverage for bronchial thermoplasty (BT) performed using the Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty System. Minnesota-based HealthPartners and Michigan-based Priority Health recently issued the first public postings of positive insurance coverage policies providing their respective memberships with reimbursement for this novel procedure to treat severe asthma.

19 Mar 2012

PFO closure device no better than drugs alone in preventing recurrent strokes or TIAs

Loyola University Medical Center is one of the major enrollers in a landmark clinical trial that found that plugging a hole in the heart works no better than drugs in preventing strokes.

17 Mar 2012

$Health Canada grants license to Medtronic DBS Therapy for refractory epilepsy$

Health Canada grants license to Medtronic DBS Therapy for refractory epilepsy

Medtronic, Inc. today announced that it has received from Health Canada a license for Medtronic Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Therapy for refractory epilepsy patients.

From Medtronic 16 Mar 2012

New telemetric system safe and effective for ICP measurement

A new implantable sensor device provides a less-invasive alternative for monitoring pressure within the skull (intracranial pressure, or ICP), suggests a pilot study in Operative Neurosurgery, a quarterly supplement to Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

16 Mar 2012

Health Canada approves Boston Scientific's Blazer Open-Irrigated RFA Catheter

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced Health Canada approval of the Blazer Open-Irrigated Catheter, the Company's latest radiofrequency ablation (RFA) catheter designed to treat a variety of arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, ventricular tachycardia and other supraventricular tachycardias.

15 Mar 2012

Endoscopic transgastric necrosectomy associated with lower risk of major complications

In a small, preliminary trial, patients with infected necrotizing pancreatitis who received a less-invasive procedure, endoscopic transgastric necrosectomy, had an associated lower risk of major complications and death compared to patients who had surgical necrosectomy, according to a study in the March 14 issue of JAMA.

14 Mar 2012

Botox - a potential for therapy of weak bladders in women

The study, published in the journal European Urology, was carried out at eight uro-gynecology centers in the UK from 2006 to 2009 by researchers from the University of Leicester. A total of 240 women were split into two groups, with 122 women given Botox and 118 receiving a dummy treatment. Researchers found improvements across a range of symptoms, including wetting oneself and feeling a need to rush to the toilet, and how often the women 'leaked' urine.

13 Mar 2012

Botulinum toxin effective in treating OAB among women

The biggest study into the treatment of urinary incontinence with botulinum toxin (trade name Botox) has demonstrated that it is effective in treating overactive bladder (OAB) - a debilitating common condition which can affect up to 20% of people over the age of 40.

12 Mar 2012