Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL) System
Atherosclerosis refers to the build-up of fats, cholesterol and other substances in and on your artery walls (plaque), which can restrict blood flow. It can affect arteries anywhere in the body , most commonly blood vessels of the heart are involved.
As age progresses , along with deposition of fats , there is increased calcium content also in the plaque which is often seen in people with diabetes, hypertension , kidney disease, smokers , male gender, elevated lipids, elderly above 60 years of age.
These calcific plaques are hard , and difficult to treat with routine angioplasty techniques . To treat these lesions, high pressure balloons / cutting or scoring balloons / rotablation(rotational atherectomy) / laser therapy have been used traditionally.
The above mentioned procedures are associated with some procedural complications and also tissue debulking may not be adequate.
Recently, an alternative way to disrupt calcium has been developed that is based on the lithotripsy concept used to treat kidney and ureteral stones. By transforming electrical energy into mechanical energy- sonic waves , the Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL) System helps in safely and selectively breaking both superficial and deep calcium deposits with minimal tissue injury, while improving vessel compliance. By this way the artery is opened up fully and stent can be placed succesfully.