Infrainguinal revascularization using the Crosser®vibrational system

Transverse microvibrations-based guide wires drag reduction evaluation for endovascular interventional application

When conducting endovascular interventional surgery, doctors usually experience high viscous resistance resulting from direct contact with blood when operating the guide wire in blood vessels, which reduces the operational efficiency. Improper operation can cause vascular injuries and greatly reduce surgical safety, sometimes leading to the death of the patient. This paper presents a new method that applies transverse microvibrations at the proximal end of a conventional passive guide wire to reduce viscous resistance. The effect of the proposed method in reducing the viscous resistance in the fluid is studied. The influences of the tube diameter, medium density, and applied vibration frequency on the viscous force are investigated. Finally, for endovascular therapy, a mathematical model of the viscous force of the guide wire based on the proposed method is established in the environment of human blood vessels to predict the magnitude of the viscous force exerted on the guide wire and analyze the drag reduction effect of the proposed method. The effectiveness of the proposed method in drag reduction and its feasibility in improving surgical safety are experimentally demonstrated. The experimental results indicate that the proposed method can assist the doctor during complicated and variable operation conditions.

Crossing Total Occlusions: Navigating Towards Recanalization

Chronic total occlusions (CTOs) represent the "last frontier" of percutaneous interventions. The main technical challenges lies in crossing the guidewire into the distal true lumen, which is primarily due to three problems: device buckling during initial puncture, inadequate visualization, and the inability to actively navigate through the CTO. To improve the success rate and to identify future research pathways, this study systematically reviews the state-of-the-art of all existing and invented devices for crossing occlusions. The literature search was executed in the databases of Scopus and Espacenet using medical and instrument-related keyword combinations. The search yielded over 840 patents and 69 articles. After scanning for relevancy, 45 patents and 16 articles were included. The identified crossing devices were subdivided based on the determinant for the crossing path through the occlusion, which is either the device (straight and angled crossing), the environment (least resistance, tissue selective, centerline, and subintimal crossing) or the user (directly steered and sensor enhanced crossing). It was found that each crossing path is characterized by specific advantages and disadvantages. For a future crossing device, a combination of crossing paths is suggested were the interventionist is able to exert high forces on the CTO (as seen in the device approach) and actively steer through the CTO (user: directly steered crossing) aided by intravascular imaging (user: sensor enhanced crossing) or an intrinsically safe device following the centerline or path of least resistance (environment: centerline crossing or least resistance crossing) to reach the distal true lumen.