FDA clears Rapid Medical steerable neurovascular guidewire

Rapid Medical announced today that it received FDA clearance for its Drivewire guidewire for aiding in treating vascular diseases.

Yokneam, Israel-based Rapid Medical’s Drivewire (known as Columbus outside the U.S.) is designed to allow physicians to control the direction and shape of the guidewire’s tip while it is inside the vessel, allowing for navigation in the neuro and peripheral vasculature, according to a news release.

Additionally, the intravascular steering provides access to difficult anatomical locations to increase a physician’s ability to treat vascular diseases through less invasive interventional approaches.

Drivewire is touted as the first neurovascular guidewire with a controllable distal end capable of changing course and shape on-demand for more precise navigation.

“The development of Drivewire has been an exciting collaboration. I can now easily navigate through complex anatomies by varying the shape of the wire tip inside the vessel, something that can’t be performed with the current neurovascular guidewires,” NYU Langone neurosurgeon Dr. Erez Nossek said in the release. “I expect this first-of-its-kind technology to benefit patients with challenging anatomies and increase the interventional treatment options available to them.”

Original Article: (https://www.massdevice.com/fda-clears-rapid-medical-steerable-neurovascular-guidewire/)