INDUSTRY NEWS: Gore to Distribute Q50 Stent Graft Balloon Catheter

November 18, 2009—W. L. Gore & Associates (Flagstaff, AZ) announced it has entered into an agreement to distribute the Q50 stent graft balloon catheter (QXMédical, LLC, Montreal, Quebec, Canada), which is designed for use with aortic stent grafts that treat abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) and thoracic aortic aneurysms. The US Food and Drug Administration cleared the catheter for marketing in October 2009. This partnership allows Gore to provide customers with a balloon catheter for modeling and occlusion use with the Gore Excluder AAA endoprosthesis and all other aortic stent grafts.

According to Gore, the Q50 device is a full-occlusion balloon catheter that helps aortic stent grafts to fully expand and seal in vessel diameters ranging from 10 to 50 mm. The Q50 features a short, flexible tip that increases trackability through challenging anatomy and a compliant polyurethane balloon that inflates and deflates rapidly to give physicians more control. The Q50 stent graft balloon catheter offers a broad range of inflation diameters and is compatible with standard 0.035-inch guidewires and low-profile 12-F introducer sheaths. With 65- and 100-cm-length pushable catheter shafts in an 8-F diameter, the device accommodates both abdominal and thoracic applications, the company stated.