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In vitro validation of the luminal measurement of a novel catheter based moulding technique
S C Eccleshall1, P J Jordan, N P Buller
1Department of Cardiology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15, UK.
Objective:
To investigate a modified angioplasty balloon catheter, which uses a novel balloon polymer to produce luminal moulds.
Design:
The catheter was tested in polyurethane phantoms of diameter 1.5 to 4.0 mm. Inflations were to 1.4 atmospheres for 20 seconds at 37 degrees C. The moulds were viewed by reinflating the balloon to 0. 34 atmospheres and quantified using macrophotography and caliper measurement.
Results:
Evidence of systematic error was found with lumen diameters
Conclusions:
The prototype catheter shows a high degree of accuracy and precision in phantoms of diameter 2.5 to 4.0 mm-the range within which most interventional work is performed. Further work on this technique as a method of direct three dimensional moulding of the coronary artery lumen is warranted.