Medtronic has received FDA approval for the Integrity coronary stent system. The company based the bare-metal stent on its so-called continuous sinusoid technology, which uses fewer welds than earlier stent models, Mass Device reports.
Instead of rings, continuous sinusoid technology enables each stent to be made from a single wire, comparable to a flexible spring. Coupled with the MicroTrac delivery system, this engineering advance offers deliverability without compromising other important stent design characteristics like radial strength, the company says in a statement.
"The Integrity stent system sets a new gold standard for deliverability thanks to the advance of continuous sinusoid technology," Dr. Mark Turco, director of cardiac and vascular research at Washington Adventist Hospital in Tacoma Park, says in a statement. "This new platform negotiates the twists and turns of the coronary anatomy remarkably well."
A company spokeswoman says the technology will serve as the foundation for Medtronic's pipeline going forward, Mass Device reports. The devicemaker announced the approval ahead of the 2010 Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics conference in Washington, D.C.
- read the Medtronic release
- here's the story from Mass Device
ALSO: New data from a second, large international study that enrolled "all comers," regardless of disease complexity and comorbidities, again demonstrated the strong performance of the Resolute drug-eluting stent (DES) from Medtronic, for patients across this continuum. Medtronic release