Corindus and Mayo Clinic Launch Vascular Robotic Program to Research Physician Safety

October 12, 2015—Corindus Vascular Robotics, Inc. announced the formation of a joint robotic-assisted percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) research and clinical program with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. In the program, Mayo Clinic physicians will initiate collaborative research projects to enhance the use of robotic technology to improve patient care as well as provider safety using the Corindus’ CorPath system to treat patients with coronary artery disease. Research at the Mayo Clinic will be led by cardiologist Gurpreet S. Sandhu, MD, who is Director of the Dr. Earl Wood Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory.

The CorPath system is cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration to provide robotic-assisted precision to coronary PCI procedures while protecting hospital employees from occupational radiation exposure and orthopedic stress and strain. On October 6, 2015, Corindus Vascular Robotics announced that 510(k) clearance was given for the CorPath system to be used during PCIs performed via radial access.

The company noted that in March 2015, Nicholas M. Orme, MD, et al of the Mayo Clinic published, “Occupational Health Hazards of Working in the Interventional Laboratory: A Multisite Case Control Study of Physicians and Allied Staff” in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2015;65:820–826). Among the concerns the article highlighted were potential musculoskeletal and back injuries to providers from wearing lead-lined protective garments in hospital catheterization laboratories.

According to Corindus, interventional procedures performed in hospital catheterization labs are a leading source of radiation exposure for medical personnel. The CorPath system allows interventional cardiologists to perform procedures while seated in a radiation-protected cockpit a few feet away from the patient’s bedside. The physician uses intuitive digital controls to robotically advance guidewires, angioplasty balloons, and stents through coronary arteries. This system would limit the radiation exposure, which has been linked to the development of cataracts, cancer, and brain and thyroid diseases.