Avinger Initiates Full Commercial Launch of Tigereye Image-Guided CTO Crossing Catheter

January 15, 2021—Avinger, Inc. announced the full commercial launch of its Tigereye image-guided chronic total occlusion (CTO) crossing system for the treatment of peripheral artery disease. FDA clearance of the device was announced in September 2020.

The company advised that with the initiation of the launch, current and prospective accounts throughout the United States and Germany are now able to order the Tigereye device. Avinger conducted a limited launch at 12 clinical centers in the United States and Germany during the fourth quarter of 2020. During this time, approximately 50 CTO cases were successfully performed in a variety of lesion types and settings.

According to Avinger, Tigereye features high-definition, real-time intravascular imaging and a user-controlled deflectable tip designed for steerability within the lumen. Tigereye also includes an enhanced distal tip configuration with rotational speeds up to 1,000 rpm designed to penetrate challenging lesions.

The Tigereye catheter has a working length of 140 cm and 5F-sheath compatibility to enable treatment of lesions in peripheral vessels above and below the knee. Tigereye is complementary to Avinger’s image-guided line of atherectomy catheters, including the Pantheris Next Generation and Pantheris SV devices, noted the company.

With Avinger’s Lumivascular technology, physicians can see from inside the artery during an atherectomy or CTO crossing procedure by using optical coherence tomography imaging, which is displayed on Avinger’s Lightbox console.