Prevention of Restenosis with a Novel Radiation Catheter

DESCRIPTION (PROVIDED BY APPLICANT): Angioplasty is a widely accepted non-surgical method to treat patients with coronary artery disease. It is estimated that over 700,000 angioplasty procedures were performed in 1999 worldwide. Restenosis is a common complication of angioplasty and occurs in 20-50 percent of these procedures. RadioVascular Systems (RVS) has a unique radioactive catheter that can be used to prevent restenosis after angioplasty in coronary and peripheral arteries. The RVS catheter is superior to its competition because it does not require centering or ultrasound, does not occlude blood flow, requires less radioactivity than other catheters and can be manufactured at a reasonable cost. The market for intravascular radiation is estimated to grow to over $300 million in year 2002. The experiments described in this proposal are designed to prove feasibility of a prototype catheter in an established animal model of restenosis. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: The potential commercial applications of the research are immediate. The data from these experiments will be used to perfect the design of the catheter that will be used in clinical trials. Other applications of this research are related to the development of new devices for the treatment of cancer.