Scientists at the Tyumen Cardiology Center, a branch of Tomsk NRMC, have developed a device for mechanical endovascular thrombectomy to treat pulmonary embolism (PE). This technology, unique to the Russian market, will enable cardiac surgeons to save patients for whom standard thrombolytic therapy is contraindicated.
- Pulmonary embolism, caused by blockage of large arteries or their smaller branches by a blood clot (thrombus), is an acute circulatory disorder in the lungs that leads to interruption of blood supply to lung tissue.
Maksim Kashtanov, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Research Scientist at the Laboratory of Endovascular Diagnostic and Treatment Methods, Department of Instrumental Research Methods, provided details about the innovative technology and prospects for its implementation in clinical practice at cardiac centers across the country.
— Our invention operates on the vacuum aspiration principle. We make a puncture in the femoral vein area and deliver the device directly to the affected region through a special wide-lumen catheter. The clot fragments can then be extracted using vacuum or mechanically.
Currently, no similar technologies exist on the Russian market. According to expert estimates, a large city with a population of approximately 500,000 requires 100-150 such procedures annually. In Russia, the estimated need for these procedures reaches 10,000 per year.
Most PE patients can be treated with medications, but in severe cases we administer thrombolysis. However, thrombolysis is contraindicated in approximately one-third of these patients due to high bleeding risk, leaving us with virtually no way to help the patient. In some cases, open-heart surgery with cardiac arrest can be performed, but open cardiac surgery availability is relatively low compared to pulmonary embolism prevalence.
According to Ivan Bessonov, — Doctor of Medical Sciences, Head of the Laboratory of X-Ray Endovascular Diagnostics and Treatment at the Tyumen Cardiology Center, a branch of Tomsk NRMC, — one of the device's key advantages is its applicability for multiple indications: both for PE and for patients with deep vein thrombosis.
The scientists plan to bring the device to market within several years with an industrial partner. Several prototypes have already been developed, a patent has been obtained, and laboratory testing is planned.
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Patent for invention No. 2847426