Device gives doctors insight into artery blockages

Pantheris, a medical device that clears blockages in leg arteries, is being used by Allegheny General Hospital surgeons, reported the Tribune

The device uses laser fibre attached to a catheter to help treat peripheral artery disease, in which plaque builds up in arteries.

Pantheris is used by Allegheny General Hospital for a plaque removal procedure as it helps surgeons visualise and remove plaque with more precision, Bart Chess, a vascular surgeon at the North Side hospital, said to the Tribune.

Chess said: “Now we can actually look from within and directly see where the problems are.”

Previous treatments relied on X-rays, Chess said. Doctors dyed blood and used radiation to identify blockages based on how the blood flowed through vessel segments. They then scraped the area with a catheter to remove the plaque.

With less visibility than they have now, doctors scraped more of the vessel, risking scarring the vessel wall. Scarring hardens the vessels, which doctors think might be associated with recurrence of the disease, the Tribune reported.

Chess said: “The hope is that by being able to directly visualise and directly treat the areas of the artery involved with the disease process, that we increase durability of our procedures and of our long-term outcomes.”

The procedure using Pantheris has so far been approved only for peripheral artery disease in the legs, according to the news site.