MEDICAL ENGINEERING ....DRILL TO CLEAN UP CLOGGED ARTERIES

Drill to clean up clogged arteries
Heart attacks may soon become a thing of the past thanks to a new diamond coated drill that can pulverise blocks in the arteries and prevent invasive surgeries like a bypass
Drilling through concrete to create an opening may sound more like construction than medicine, but the approach is similar to what researchers at Orlando Regional Medical Centre are doing in a clinical trial to evaluate a device that breaks through hardened coronary arteries, in an effort to prevent heart attacks and relieve chest pain. It will evaluate the safety of Diamondback 360 orbital tech which uses a tiny, orbiting diamond-coated crown to gently sand away calcified plaque and restore blood flow. “This device is the next gen in the removal of this type of severe calcification in arteries or atherosclerosis,” said Barry Weinstock, principal investigator for the clinical trial. “During the last 20 years, technology has continued to improve with balloon angioplasty, and stents to keep arteries open, but the technology to treat calcified plaque in the arteries has not kept up as much.” The Diamondback’s diamond-coated crown orbits in the coronary arteries with speeds varying from 80,000 to 1,20,000 times per minute, breaking up plaque along the way into microscopic particles which are digested.
WHAT IS ATHEROSCLEROSIS?
Severely hardened coronary arteries, a type of atherosclerosis, can restrict blood flow causing chest pain and other symptoms such as shortness of breath. “More concerning, the plaque can rupture causing a blood clot which can trigger a heart attack,” said Weinstock. Because the condition develops over time, mild atherosclerosis may not have symptoms. Once an artery is more severely clogged and blood flow is more severely restricted, common symptoms are similar to those of a heart attack, including chest pain. “Risk factors for the development of coronary artery disease include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, a family history of early heart disease, and smoking,” said Weinstock. “Patients with kidney disease and/or diabetes as well as more elderly patients are more likely to have severely calcified plaque that may need to be treated with a device such as the Diamondback 360.”
THE PROCEDURE
The procedure begins with a catheter inserted through an incision in the groin. Dye is injected to visualise the coronary arteries. A fine wire, the size of a strand of hair, is inserted into the artery through the catheter. The Diamondback catheter slides along the wire like a train on a track. Once the device removes the calcified plaque, a stent is typically placed to further open the artery and to minimise the chance of the artery re-clogging in the future. “This new approach may be an effective, minimally invasive alternative for many patients who would otherwise require openheart surgery,” said Weinstock. “Recovery from open heart or bypass surgery can take as long as a week or longer. Using the device, most patients are back home the day after the procedure and at work the next day.” They currently use the tech to treat peripheral arterial disease, a build-up of plaque in the leg arteries that can lead to severe and debilitating leg pain or even amputation.
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