INDUSTRY NEWS: TriVascular Commences Global Aortic Stent Graft Trial

December 7, 2009—TriVascular, Inc. (Santa Rosa, CA) announced the first human use of both its abdominal and thoracic aortic stent graft systems. These cases mark the beginning of clinical trial activity that will span four continents and multiple disease states. Francisco Valdes, MD, performed the cases at the Catholic University School of Medicine in Santiago, Chile.

According to the company, the systems' features will help expand the eligible patient population for minimally invasive aortic repair. The stent graft systems are designed to overcome difficult access issues with delivery catheters that are significantly smaller in profile than currently available systems and TriVascular's sealing technology, which is designed for treatment of very challenging patient anatomies. The devices are not commercially available in the United States.

“I was extremely pleased with TriVascular's aortic stent graft systems,” commented Dr. Valdes. “There are many unmet needs in the treatment of aortic disease and, in the two cases we performed, the significantly reduced profile of the TriVascular systems enabled smooth and easy access in two challenging patient anatomies. I believe both the abdominal and thoracic systems will very positively improve patient care.”