DISTALS Trial Data Presented for Rapid Medical Tigertriever 13 in DMVO Stroke

May 7, 2026—Rapid Medical announced full results from the DISTALS randomized clinical trial demonstrating that the company’s Tigertriever 13 thrombectomy system can safely restore blood flow to the brain and may improve clinical outcomes in patients with distal and medium vessel occlusion (DMVO) stroke.

The system, which is designed to actively adjust to the vessel anatomy, is built for these smaller vessels and supports safe reperfusion and improved outcomes, noted Rapid Medical.

The DISTALS data were presented at ESOC 2026, the 11th European Stroke Organization Conference in Maastricht, the Netherlands. Rapid Medical advised that it plans to pursue FDA clearance based on these results.

According to the company, these findings build on earlier results showing a threefold improvement in restoring blood flow compared with medical management alone (P < .0001), with no cases of serious brain bleeding observed in the treatment group.

Rapid Medical stated that clinical outcomes from DISTALS at 3 months show encouraging signals of benefit. As summarized in the press release, patients treated with the Tigertriever 13 device demonstrated the following:

• Higher rates of little or no disability (modified Rankin Scale [mRS], 0-1]) compared with medical therapy alone (41.2% vs 38.2%).
• Meaningful recovery among patients with moderate to severe strokes (mRS, 2-5) at baseline, with more experiencing improvement by at least one level of disability than in the control (69% vs 56%).
• Additional benefits were observed in patients treated under general anesthesia.

The company also advised that more than twice as many patients treated with Tigertriever 13 reported a full return to normal quality of life. Finally, safety remained strong, with no symptomatic brain bleeding and similar 90-day survival rates between groups.

Jeffrey L. Saver, MD, and David Fiorella, MD, Principal Investigator of DISTALS, commented on the study results in Rapid Medical’s press release.

“These results show we can now safely restore blood flow and suggest this will make a meaningful difference for the right patients,” stated Dr. Saver. “What’s important is that both the device and the trial were designed specifically for distal stroke. By using a device built for these small vessels and measuring outcomes at the brain tissue level, we have set the stage for translating flow restoration into better recovery.”

Dr. Fiorella added, “We’re seeing meaningful recovery in a patient population where treatment options have historically been limited. Nearly three-quarters of more severely disabled patients improved, and outcomes were even stronger with general anesthesia. That tells us technique and approach matter just as much as the device itself when treating distal occlusions.”