Jan 23 2015
Hansen Medical, Inc., a global leader in intravascular robotics, today announced the completion of the world's first intravascular robot-assisted retrieval of an Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filter. Dr. Alan Lumsden, Vascular Surgeon and Director of the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, performed the procedure at Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas using the Magellan™ Robotic System to remove a filter manufactured by Cook® Medical.
"We are pleased to report the success of this initial procedure," said Dr. Lumsden. "This is another great example of how the precision, stability and control of the Magellan robotic catheters are being applied to help improve the predictability of many of the complex endovascular procedures that we perform on a daily basis."
An IVC filter is implanted in the inferior vena cava (the large vein that carries blood from the lower part of the body to the heart) to trap blood clots. IVC filters are placed in patients with contraindications to systemic anticoagulation who are at high risk for Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). DVT is a blood clot formed in the veins of the legs or pelvis that can have life-threatening consequences if it travels to the lungs, known as Pulmonary Embolism (PE). Estimates of the incidence of nonfatal PE range from 400,000 to 630,000 cases per year in the US, and 50,000 to 200,000 fatalities per year are directly attributable to PE1. It is estimated that more than 250,000 IVC filters are placed annually in the United States.2
Retrievable IVC filters can be removed from the body when the risk of PE has subsided or when the patient is able to tolerate blood thinning medications. The filter is retrieved via an endovascular procedure in which a hook on the filter is "snared" by a specially designed wire and pulled back into a catheter, and then removed from the body. Retrieval may be technically challenging or fail when a filter has tilted inside the body. By enabling a physician to change the angle and direction of the robotic catheter inside the blood vessel, Magellan may help a physician to more precisely target the hook of a tilted filter.
"We would like to extend our congratulations to Dr. Lumsden and his team at Houston Methodist for continuing to identify promising new applications for the Magellan Robotic System in the treatment of vascular disease," said Cary Vance, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hansen Medical. "We are hopeful that as more experience is gained, intravascular robot-assisted IVC filter retrieval with Magellan can help a large number of patients benefit from a more predictable procedure."
The Magellan Robotic System is an advanced technology that drives the Magellan Robotic Catheters during endovascular procedures. Magellan is designed to offer procedural predictability, control, and catheter stability to physicians as they remotely navigate the robotic catheter through the vasculature. Magellan's remote workstation allows physicians to navigate through the vasculature while seated away from the radiation field, potentially reducing physicians' radiation exposure and procedural fatigue.