Maquet to Distribute InterValve's V8 Aortic Valvuloplasty Balloon Catheter in the United States

January 23, 2015—Maquet Medical Systems USA announced an agreement to serve as the exclusive United States distributor of Minnesota-based InterValve Inc.’s V8 aortic valvuloplasty balloon catheter. The V8 catheter is designed to be used in stand-alone balloon aortic valvuloplasty and predilatation during transcatheter aortic valve replacement procedures. Maquet’s sales representatives in the United States will begin selling the V8 catheter during the first quarter of 2015.

According to Maquet, the V8 balloon catheter is designed to rapidly inflate and deflate to reduce the duration of blood flow obstruction across the valve. The device features a figure eight–shaped balloon that enables the bulbs at either end of the balloon to lock into either side of the aortic annulus. This feature has the potential to reduce the risk of balloon movement during dilatation. The balloon catheter maintains the figure eight shape throughout inflation. This allows for leaflet hyperextension to create maximum valve area opening, without increasing the risk of overstretching the annulus, stated the company.