Thrombectomy is a minimally invasive procedure for removing a blood clot and has now become standard of care treatment for patients with an acute ischemic stroke (AIS) secondary to a Large Vessel Occlusion (LVO). Surgeons use several available techniques, all of which aim to restore blood flow at the earliest. Now, a new device combines the balloon guide catheters and distal access catheters currently used in thrombectomy to remove clots from the brains of stroke victims, allowing clinicians to get the balloon much closer to the clot.

Vena Medical’s (Kitchener, ON, Canada) Vena Balloon Distal Access Catheter (BDAC) is a category-defining device that combines both a distal access catheter and balloon guide catheter to bring the balloon closer to the clot and stop residual clots in their tracks. Studies have shown that getting the balloon much closer to the clot improves key metrics such as First Pass Success Rate, enabling the removal of the clot in the first attempt and resulting in significantly better patient outcomes. Vena BDAC allows the use of manual aspiration to increase first pass effect, remove residual clots and reduce costs. It also reduces the number of devices to treat each patient and consequently, the cost of the procedure. The first five patients in the world have now been successfully treated using the Vena BDAC at Canadian hospitals.

“We’re proud to have the first patients to benefit from our Canadian developed technology within driving distance of our office, in the hands of world-class physicians. This is cutting-edge technology that would normally need to be launched somewhere far from here, but we’re excited to make an impact locally before we make an impact globally” said Michael Phillips, the CEO of Vena Medical.

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