Intricate medical devices are required for two primary interventional procedures performed today on the coronary arteries. Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty is a procedure during which a balloon catheter is introduced into the narrowed portion of the coronary artery lumen and inflated to reopen the artery to allow the return of normal blood flow. During this procedure, often a coronary stent is also placed such that restenosis of the artery is significantly delayed. A stent is a device made up of wire mesh that provides scaffolding to support the wall of the artery and keep its lumen open and free from the buildup of plaque.

Balloon angioplasty and coronary stents have prevented numerous patients from having to undergo coronary artery bypass graft surgery, which can be costly and painful. Such stents have been produced with a variety of drug coatings in further attempts to minimize or eliminate the possibility of restenosis.

While these drug eluting stents have been a great improvement over angioplasty,(1) success rates could be further improved via new techniques. For example, the STAR – Subintimal Tracking and Reentry – technique utilizes a small wire to dissect into the obstruction.(2) Additionally, several novel devices have recently been developed. Radiofrequency signals can warn the user when the wire tip is too close to the vessel wall to prevent perforation and can be pulsed to facilitate passage through a coronary artery obstruction.(3) Another catheter pulses the face of the obstruction to create a path into the obstruction.(3) Finally, proteolytic enzymes can digest parts of the obstruction to aid in mechanical passage of a guidewire.(3)