title: New device for percutaneous fragmentation of pulmonary emboli.
abstract: A new catheter system was designed for percutaneous fragmentation of large pulmonary emboli. The device consists of an impeller rotating at high speed at the center of a self-expandable basket at the tip of a 7-F catheter. The highly flexible catheter was able to reach all tested embolus sites in a glass model of the pulmonary arterial tree. Embolus fragmentation was quick and thorough. Particles in the effluent larger than 10 microns accounted for only about 9% of the treated embolus weight. Wall contact with the rotating impeller was not observed. The impeller-basket catheter promises to be a useful tool for percutaneous treatment of acute pulmonary embolism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Technical University of Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schmitz-Rode
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Günther
mesh_terms: D002404:Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008961:Models, Structural; D010316:Particle Size; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000628:therapy*; D011677:Punctures / Q000295:instrumentation