“We have to make sure that we pick the right components, the right tolerances, the right blend of materials,” Prabhu said. “The low profile is what improves the deliverability of the catheter, but to get to the low profile, there’s a lot of engineering.” The Abbott engineers and designers were able to drive the size of the FlexNav catheter down to 14 Fr, which Prabhu said is the lowest profile in the industry. The coating placement had to be well thought out because some parts of the delivery system that are interacting with human anatomy need the reduced friction - but others don’t because they need to anchor. The coating, Prabhu said, “allows us to reduce the friction as we navigate through that tortuous anatomy.” He described the coating as a common material used infrequently in TAVR delivery systems. Prabhu and his team took a hydrophilic coating and used it on specific areas of the catheter to provide lubricity through tough-to-navigate vasculature. Strategic use of hydrophilic coatings Santosh Prabhu, divisional VP, product development of Abbott Structural Heart Here are five advances that Abbott incorporated into FlexNav: 1. The more accurately the doctor is able to place the valve, the better outcomes he gets, the better for the patients,” Prabhu said. “The smoother the delivery is, the better it is. “I think it’s a major innovation in how the valve is delivered, based on the innovation that has gone into the design of that delivery system,” Prabhu said during an interview that originally aired in November on our DeviceTalks Weekly podcast.Ībbott wanted to create a TAVR delivery system that was flexible, safe, able to get through tough anatomies, and easy to use. It also preserves access to the critical coronary arteries for future interventions.īut Santosh Prabhu - divisional VP, product development of Abbott Structural Heart - says the FlexNav delivery system is the area where the real ingenuity lies. The Portico’s creators designed its structure to provide optimal blood flow when placed inside a patient’s natural valve. The Portico valve boasts a self-expanding design with intra-annular (within the native valve) leaflets. For now, the approval covers symptomatic, severe aortic stenosis associated with a high or extreme risk for open-heart surgery. The Abbott Park, Illinois–based medtech company in September announced FDA approval of its Portico with FlexNav TAVR system, more than a year after it secured CE Mark approval in Europe. The Portico with FlexNav TAVR system Abbott is aiming to claw away market share from transcatheter aortic valve replacement pioneers Edwards Lifesciences and Medtronic. A top Abbott executive explains how the company’s FlexNav delivery system could make the Portico TAVR competitive.
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