Targeted vascular drug delivery. A new day for an old way

Local drug delivery for the treatment of vascular disease has been studied for many years. In coronary artery disease, drug eluting stents are routinely deployed. However, with concerns regarding late thrombosis, and clinical applications where stenting is not desirable, such as peripheral vascular disease, a new direction to "leave nothing behind" has emerged. In Europe, paclitaxel-coated balloons have shown promise in reducing restenosis in both peripheral and coronary applications. However, a number of technical, economic and regulatory limitations of the current devices have been identified. Local or targeted fluid delivery of drugs may offer a relatively simple solution.