Boston Scientific Adds Balloon Sizes for PolarCath System

June 21, 2010—Boston Scientific Corporation (Natick, MA) announced that 22 new balloon sizes have been added to the PolarCath peripheral dilatation system, including balloon lengths of 120 and 150 mm. The PolarCath system is used to restore blood flow in patients with critical limb ischemia and blockages in the femoral and popliteal arteries. The new PolarCath 120- and 150-mm balloons are available in both 0.014-inch and 0.035-inch guidewire-compatible platforms, with balloon lengths of 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 mm.



“The expanded portfolio of PolarCath balloons will enable interventionists to address longer lesions in the femoral and subfemoral arteries, often more efficiently than using several shorter balloons,” commented Tony S. Das, MD. “The PolarCath system also offers the potential benefits of CryoPlasty therapy for these complex lesions.”

CryoPlasty therapy, a form of balloon angioplasty delivered by the PolarCath system, uses nitrous oxide to cool the inside of occluded arteries in the legs while opening the blockages. As it is inflated, the cold surface of the balloon cools and dilates the vascular lesion. In the BTK CHILL study of patients with blockages in the arteries below the knee, CryoPlasty therapy resulted in a high rate of limb salvage in patients with critical limb ischemia, the company stated.