Medtronic recently announced the global launch of the Telescope guide extension catheter, a newly designed catheter used to provide additional backup support and access to distal lesions. Guide extension catheters help deliver coronary stents, balloons and other interventional devices during angioplasty procedures that help to restore blood flow through the coronary and peripheral arteries.
Developed alongside interventional cardiologists, many of whom are increasingly challenged with complex cases—such as patients with tortuous anatomies, calcified vessels, and distal lesions—the Telescope guide extension catheter provides operators with superior deliverability and is designed to enable smooth delivery of interventional devices in more challenging cases.
“It is not an exaggeration to say that guide extension technologies have greatly impacted the ability to deliver devices to the distal coronary vasculature, especially for cases where traditional guide support may be limited,” said Ajay Kirtane, director of the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories. “In this light, the Telescope—a guide extension catheter with specific design optimisations aiming to stably deliver devices through tortuous anatomy—is a welcome addition to the interventional toolbox.”
The Telescope guide extension catheter combines a solid, round pushwire with a coil-reinforced hydrophilic-coated distal segment to help physicians reach challenging lesions with improved pushability and deliverability. Telescope also features a flexible TruFlex soft polymer tip, which is designed to responsively bend and deflect during use. In addition, once Telescope is in position near the target lesion, SmoothPass technology helps to smoothly channel stents, balloons, and other interventional devices into place.
“Before bringing this important technology to market, we collaborated with more than 700 interventional cardiologists to ensure Telescope was addressing unmet needs in complex PCI,” said Dave Moeller, vice president and general manager of the Coronary and Renal Denervation business, which is part of the Cardiac and Vascular Group at Medtronic. “We will continue to make investments in cutting edge interventional technologies, clinical evidence expansion, and robust physician training programs, which we believe will make a meaningful difference for physicians and their patients.”
