Avinger, Inc. (AVGR), a leading developer of innovative treatments for peripheral artery disease (PAD), announced that its next generation Pantheris® Lumivascular atherectomy system with extended nosecone was featured in a live case transmission at Charing Cross Symposium (CX) 2018 held in London, England. Charing Cross had more than 4,000 vascular specialists in attendance from 84 countries last year and focuses on optimal vascular disease management.

Dr. Arne Schwindt, a vascular surgeon from St. Franziskus Hospital in Münster, Germany, used the next generation Pantheris with extended nosecone (A400EX) to perform a live endovascular procedure as part of the Peripheral Techniques and Technologies program.The patient had disease concentrated in the superficial femoral artery, with a complete blockage, or chronic total occlusion, across an 80mm segment. Dr. Schwindt used Avinger’s Ocelot technology to cross the blockage first, and then followed with the Pantheris catheter to remove the diseased tissue and restore blood flow to the lower limbs. Further scaffolding of the treated arteries with stents was unnecessary after the successful combination of atherectomy followed by drug-coated balloons.

“The combination of Ocelot and the Pantheris with the extended nosecone in this case contributed towards a great outcome for this patient in what can typically be an extremely challenging procedure,” Dr. Schwindt stated. “I was extremely pleased that we could restore blood flow to this patient’s lower arteries using a minimally invasive approach, and avoided the use of permanent implants. Chronic total occlusions are often times associated with lower procedural success rates, higher complication rates, and in some settings can result in a referral to bypass surgeries. Real-time intravascular imaging combined with the features of these catheters provides a level of precision and information not available with any other type of technology, resulting in safer and more effective interventions for my patients. I would like to thank Charing Cross and its organizers for giving me the opportunity to demonstrate my approach to disease management in front of my peers.”

The A400EX is a line extension of the existing next generation Pantheris platform, with a longer nosecone that enhances the plaque removal capacity of the device and incorporates the feature improvements of the next generation of devices. The extended nosecone increases the storage capacity of the Pantheris system by approximately 75%, and in this case allowed Dr. Schwindt to effectively remove an extensive amount of plaque with reduced insertions, thereby reducing the procedure time associated with extra insertions. This device is available in limited supply for commercial sale in select EU countries; it is not available commercially in the United States at this time.

Atherectomy is a minimally invasive treatment for PAD in which a catheter-based device is used to remove plaque from a blood vessel. Lumivascular technology allows physicians, for the first time ever, to see from inside the artery during an atherectomy procedure by using an imaging modality called optical coherence tomography, or OCT, that is displayed on Avinger’s proprietary Lightbox console. Physicians performing atherectomy with other devices must rely solely on X-ray as well as tactile feedback to guide their interventions while treating complicated arterial disease. With theLumivascular approach, physicians can more accurately navigate their devices and treat PAD lesions through real-time OCT images generated from inside the artery, and without exposing healthcare workers and patients to the negative effects of ionizing radiation. 

 For more information, please visitwww.avinger.com.