Glidesheath Nitinol Kit
Terumo Interventional Systems (Somerset, NJ) has announced the nationwide availability of the new Glidesheath nitinol kit, an all-in-one micropuncture radial access kit for physicians who prefer a transradial approach to interventional procedures. The Glidesheath nitinol kit is available with unique features such as a new 0.021-inch nitinol floppy palladium-tipped wire and a 21-gauge metal needle. Unlike competitive kits that do not have a hydrophilic sheath, each Glidesheath nitinol kit includes everything the operator will need in one complete package.

Glidesheath hydrophilic-coated introducer sheaths offer the full-length Terumo Glide technology coating to ensure smooth, atraumatic insertion and removal, even in the most challenging procedures. The Glidesheath's unique design provides optimal flexibility for kink resistance to ensure an open lumen throughout the procedure, and the cross-cut valve allows for easy insertion of catheters and devices while offering uncompromised hemostasis.

SuperCross Microcatheter
In January 2011, Vascular Solutions, Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) announced that the sterile, single- use SuperCross microcatheter is available in the United States and Europe. According to the company, the SuperCross offers superior crossability, flexibility, and exceptional guidewire support during coronary and peripheral catheterization procedures. It is compatible with 0.014-inch guidewires and is available in 130- or 150-cm lengths. The distal 40 cm has a hydrophilic coating to help reduce friction during deployment. A full-length stainless steel braid provides improved flexibility, pushability, and kink resistance. The SuperCross' internal PTFE liner provides superb guidewire movement, and the tapered inner lumen provides a smooth transition during wire delivery for optimal guidewire control. The fully embedded gold marker band on the distal tip delivers radiopacity, enabling precise device placement during complex interventions. The SuperCross is intended to be used in conjunction with steerable guidewires to access discrete regions of the coronary and/or peripheral vasculature, and it may be used to facilitate placement and exchange of guidewires and other interventional devices and to subselectively infuse/deliver diagnostic and therapeutic agents.

Absorb Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold
Absorb (Abbott, Santa Clara, CA), currently CE Marked in Europe, is made of polylactide, a proven biocompatible material that is commonly used in medical implants such as resorbable sutures. Because a permanent metallic implant is not left behind, a patient's vessel treated with Absorb may ultimately have the ability to move, flex, and pulsate similar to an untreated vessel. Restoration of these naturally occurring vessel functions, or vascular restoration therapy (VRT), is one of the features that makes Absorb a significant innovation for patients in the treatment of coronary artery disease, the company stated.

“Abbott's Absorb has the potential to change the way patients with coronary artery disease are treated, as it does what no other drug-eluting coronary device has been able to do before—completely dissolve and potentially restore natural vessel function in a way not possible with permanent metallic implants,” said Patrick W. Serruys, MD, PhD, professor of interventional cardiology at the Thoraxcentre, Erasmus University Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.