- Now offering three versions of Turnpike catheters for use in complex coronary and peripheral interventions
- Turnpike Spiral features an outer coil on the distal shaft for added rotational advancement in tortuous anatomy
- Turnpike Gold features a threaded, gold-plated tip for rotational advancement through difficult lesions
MINNEAPOLIS, June 17, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vascular Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq:VASC) today announced that it has launched two new versions of its Turnpike catheters for use in complex coronary and peripheral interventions. The original version of Turnpike was introduced in January, and now Vascular Solutions has added the Turnpike Spiral and Turnpike Gold versions to the Turnpike product line.
“Physicians have responded enthusiastically to our launch of the original Turnpike catheter, which is turning out to be one of our most successful new product launches in recent years,” said Howard Root, Chief Executive Officer of Vascular Solutions. “At a time when physicians are performing a greater number of complex interventional procedures, we are pleased to broaden our Turnpike product line with two new devices that provide unique clinical benefits. Since launching our GuideLiner® guide extension catheter in 2009, Vascular Solutions has been focused on providing tools for use in the most challenging interventions, and we expect our Turnpike catheters to make a significant added contribution in this rapidly growing clinical specialty worldwide.”
One of the early adopters of the Turnpike catheters is James Spratt, M.D., Consultant Cardiologist at Forth Valley Acute Hospitals in the United Kingdom. “A major focus of my practice is the treatment of complex cases, and these interventions require specialized devices to navigate in highly tortuous vessels and through extremely tight plaque lesions,” Dr. Spratt stated. “I have been very impressed with the new Turnpike catheters and have incorporated these devices into my practice. The design of these catheters allows for excellent tracking in tortuous vessels and superior passage through difficult stenoses.”
All three versions of the Turnpike are over-the-wire catheters with an advanced shaft design that provides superior tracking and advancement over an 0.014” guidewire. The single-lumen catheters are constructed in five layers: two layers of polymer encapsulating both a braid and a dual-layer coil.
The original version of the Turnpike, launched in January, extends the catheter’s braid and dual-layer coil into a soft, radiopaque distal tip which, following a non-tapered polymer-only section, gradually tapers to a smooth distal edge. The new Turnpike Spiral version uses the same shaft and tip configuration but adds an outer coil attached to the distal 2cm of the shaft, which is useful in procedures in which physicians need additional rotational advancement of the catheter through tortuous anatomy. The new Turnpike Gold version uses the same shaft but features a threaded, gold-plated tip designed for rotational advancement in cases in which an 0.014” guidewire has been advanced through a lesion but even the smallest balloon catheter is unable to be delivered over the wire. All three versions feature a hydrophilic coating on the distal 60cm of the catheter for smooth advancement.
The Turnpike catheters are intended to be used to access discrete regions of the coronary and/or peripheral vasculature. The catheters may be used to facilitate placement or exchange of guidewires and to subselectively infuse/deliver diagnostic and therapeutic agents.
Developing and bringing to market a wide array of devices for use in complex interventions, one of the fast-growing segments of the vascular therapy market, is an area of major strategic focus for Vascular Solutions. In addition to GuideLiner and Turnpike, the company’s current product offerings for use in the most challenging interventions include the Navigation™ catheter, an accessory device for use with the GuideLiner; the Twin-Pass® dual access catheter, which allows delivery of a second 0.014” guidewire into a side branch or acute bifurcation or delivery of contrast or medication while maintaining existing wire placement; SuperCross™ microcatheters, which feature multiple straight- and angled-tip options for wire support and controlled navigation in tortuous anatomies; the Venture® catheter for precise guidewire placement in bifurcations, angulated take-offs, and tortuous anatomy; the R350™ guidewire for retrograde access; and the Elite™ Snares for guidewire manipulation.
About Vascular Solutions
Vascular Solutions, Inc. is an innovative medical device company that focuses on developing unique clinical solutions for coronary and peripheral vascular procedures. The company’s product line consists of more than 90 products that are sold to interventional cardiologists, interventional radiologists, electrophysiologists, and vein specialists through the company’s 100-employee direct U.S. sales force and international independent distributor network covering 56 countries.
The information in this press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Important factors that may cause such differences include those discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 and other recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks associated with the need for adoption of our new products, lack of sustained profitability, exposure to intellectual property claims, significant variability in quarterly results, exposure to possible product liability claims, the development of new products by others, doing business in international markets, the availability of third party reimbursement, and actions by the FDA.
For further information, connect to www.vasc.com.