Probe III catheter, an improved balloon-on-a-wire system: initial experience. Probe III Investigators Group

Over the last several years, extremely low-profile balloon-on-a-wire catheters have extended the limits of coronary angioplasty. However, the first such fixed-wire catheter, the Probe, experienced a number of mechanical failures, causing the manufacturer to reconfigure the catheter as the Probe III. The current study was therefore undertaken to assess the safety and efficacy of this new device in a variety of cases. The Probe III catheter was used as a primary dilatation device in 157 lesions in 113 patients over a three and one-half month period. One-hundred-six (93%) of the procedures were successful. There were no mechanical failures. The low profile and enhanced trackability of the Probe III catheter led to a high rate of procedural success in a variety of lesions, including extremely tight lesions, distal stenoses, bifurcation lesions, and bend-point lesions. The low profile and enhanced trackability also enabled excellent visualization, as well as quick and successful angioplasty in most patients.