Drug Coated Balloons for Peripheral Artery Disease

Publication Date: 17 January, 2022

Source: Headline Daily

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a circulation disorder that causes the narrowing and blockage of the blood vessels, notably in the legs and feet. This decreases the blood flow to the lower extremities. Early symptoms include pain from the calf muscle when walking. If left untreated, the narrowing can become a total blockage, resulting in sores, ulcers, gangrene, and possibility amputation. The associated death rate is high after a major amputation of the lower limb.

The most common cause of peripheral artery disease is atherosclerosis, which is the build-up of fatty deposits in the blood vessels. Factors that increase the risk of developing peripheral arterial disease include high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, smoking, and obesity. Smokers and diabetics are at greatest risks .

The screening for PAD is quick and simple. After the examination of your legs, and taking a simple pressure measurement of your arm and calf, your doctor will be able to assess the possibility of PAD. The doctor will then conduct tests such as ultrasound, angiography, CT angiography to confirm the diagnosis and progression of PAD.

The treatment for PAD involves controlling and avoiding deterioration of the symptoms, which includes lifestyle modification such as stop smoking, regular exercise, diet and medication, and in some cases, the situation can be reversed. However, if these do not work, your doctor may recommend minimally invasive procedure to widen the narrowed blood vessel. In very severe cases of PAD, bypass surgery is used to redirect blood flow around the damaged vessels.

Today, it is common to perform minimally invasive balloon angioplasty. Doctors will insert a small balloon which will inflate in, and dilate, the narrowed artery to widen it. Then a balloon with drug coating will be used and it is believed that this will help keep the arteries open for a longer period than a plain balloon angioplasty.

OrbusNeich^® is developing a new drug eluting balloon that, based on our novel technology, can load drugs several times more than the present products and accurately deliver sufficient dosage of the active pharmaceutical ingredient to the lesions to accelerate lesion repair and improve the quality of life of PAD patients.