Some New Applications of Medical Balloons
Some New Applications of Medical Balloons – Paclitaxel Balloon Coating
With the continuous improvement of balloon materials, structure and performance, the application of balloons has become more and more extensive. In addition to the application in PTCA and PTA, balloons are now also used in heat delivery catheters, laser catheters and photoactivation therapy ( PDT), positioning sealed catheters and drug delivery catheters, etc. This article only briefly introduces laser catheters, photoactivated therapy (PDT) and drug delivery catheters.
The medical balloons used in laser catheters and photoactivated therapy (PDT) are made of transparent materials, and these materials have good transmittance and low absorption of emitted light. The laser is installed inside the balloon. The working section of the balloon can transmit light, while other areas such as the cone and tube section are covered with a special coating to prevent light transmission, so as to better control the treatment area and prevent burns. The diseased area.
In use, the catheter is pushed to the lesion, the balloon is first expanded, and then the laser is activated to treat the lesion. In addition to the application of laser catheters, the photoactivation therapy (PDT) process also involves the use of drugs, such as the treatment of Barrett’s esophageal cancer. One to two days before the photoactivation treatment, the doctor will give the patient an intravenous medication to cover the diseased area, but this medication has no effect until it is activated by the laser. During the operation, the catheter is delivered to the lesion, and the balloon is expanded first, and then the laser is used to activate the drug to kill the cancer cells. In the non-working section, the drug is not activated, which prevents normal cells from being killed by mistake.
The structure of the drug delivery catheter and the ordinary balloon catheter is basically the same, the only difference is that the surface of the balloon used for the drug delivery catheter has many micropores with a diameter of 0.5-50μm. The size of the hole needs to allow the drug to pass through, but at the same time it should not be too large. It also needs to allow the balloon to be fully expanded and fixed to the lesion. This type of catheter is mainly used for the local treatment of the diseased area. For some very expensive drugs with large side effects, the drug is delivered through the catheter. At the diseased area, the balloon is expanded with a fluid containing the drug, and the balloon is fixed in the lumen. After the inner wall, through the small holes on the surface of the balloon, the medicine can treat local lesions. After the balloon is depressurized, the medicine is recovered again, thereby improving the utilization rate of the medicine and reducing the side effects of the medicine.
Cheersonic has extensive experience in surface coating of implantable medical devices (such as drug stents and balloons), and can provide customers with complete solutions.
