Bloomberg Businessweek (North America)
Innovation: Pantheris’s laser-guided catheter could be “a game changer for patient care”
Laser-guided Catheter
Form and function
The Pantheris catheter’s laser camera lets surgeons see inside blood vessels as its cutting instrument is removing fatty deposits, making it much safer than conventional methods of treating peripheral arterial disease (PAD).
Medical doctor and chairman of Avinger, a 200-employee medical-device company in Redwood City, Calif.
Next Steps
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared Pantheris for PAD treatment in October. Simpson says Avinger is working to make the device smaller and softer so it can also be used to treat the especially delicate coronary arteries. “Pantheris is a major upgrade,” says Thomas Davis, a doctor treating cardiovascular disease at St. John Hospital & Medical Center in Detroit. He calls it “a game changer for patient care.”