Eximo Medical's B-Laser Atherectomy System Successfully Used to Cross CTOs Without a Guidewire

May 13, 2019—Eximo Medical Ltd. announced the first successful use of the company's B-Laser atherectomy system in a step-by-step approach (eg, crossing a noncrossable chronic total occlusion [CTO] cap without a guidewire) to treat patients with highly complex, arterial occlusive peripheral artery disease (PAD). Additionally, the company noted the first use of Eximo's on-line photoacoustic monitoring to enhance safety during the procedures.

In January 2019, Eximo Medical announced the launch and first commercial use of the B-Laser atherectomy system for treatment of peripheral vascular disease. According to the company, the B-Laser technology enables a step-by-step crossing approach using a standard B-Laser catheter followed by atherectomy with the same catheter while using standard guidewires.

Professor Waclaw Kuczmik, MD, Professor of Surgery at the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland, led a clinical study that successfully, without any complications, used the B-Laser in several such cases, including long and severely calcified lesions. In addition, these procedures included the use of Eximo’s future on-line photoacoustic signal monitoring technology, which employs machine learning that will allow interventionalists to characterize the material in contact with the catheter tip and provide a warning signal to avoid vessel injury and procedural complications.

Luis Leon, MD, a vascular and endovascular surgeon at PIMA Vascular in Tucson, Arizona, has begun to use the B-Laser to treat patients affected by highly complex, highly calcific lesions at both the above- and below-the-knee artery segments, that includes antegrade and retrograde pedal approaches.

In the company's announcement, Dr. Leon commented, “There is a well-known paucity of devices that allow interventionalists to cross occlusive lesions in an intraluminal path as opposed to subintimal. I am very excited to work with Eximo using the B-Laser in a variety of PAD patients and to incorporate it routinely in our outpatient-based laboratory. The capability to cross chronically occluded arteries without needing to cross with a wire first, and to then be able to perform atherectomy over a wire by using the same catheter represents a welcomed and significant addition to our toolkit as it addresses a real unmet need in our practice. I am very proud to be part of this exciting technology and journey.”