Shockwave Medical launches new IVL catheter for challenging lesions in Europe
Shockwave Medical, a Johnson & Johnson MedTech company, has launched its newest intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) technology in Europe after a successful introduction to the U.S. market.
The Javelin Peripheral IVL Catheter was specifically designed to help target calcium in the extreme narrowed blood vessels of patients with peripheral artery disease and chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI). It has a working length of 150 cm and features a single distal emitter that delivers 120 spherical ultrasonic acoustic pressure waves. These shock waves extend beyond the tip of the catheter, arriving closer to occlusive calcific lesions than balloon-based IVL platforms.
Shockwave presented positive data on the Javelin device at VIVA 2024 in Las Vegas, noting that it was associated with a technical acute procedural success rate of 99%, and major adverse event rate of just 1.1% after 30 days. Just one complication occurred, and there were no reports of perforations, abrupt vessel closure, distal embolization or no-reflow.
“Shockwave is at the forefront of IVL technology, and we continue to address unmet physician needs,” Nick West, MD, Shockwave Medical’s chief medical officer, said in a statement. “We developed our first-of-its-kind forward IVL platform through conversations with physicians, leveraging their valuable insights to develop a platform with the capability to modify calcium and cross extremely narrowed vessels. We are proud to set the standard in generating an expansive portfolio for endovascular interventionalists to address their unmet needs and move the goalposts of what’s expected from IVL technology in the reduction of risks associated with CLTI.”
“Previously, there were few reliable options for effective treatment of these uncrossable below the knee vessels,” added Ashish Patel, MBBS, PhD, consultant vascular and endovascular surgeon at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and a reader in vascular surgery and sciences at King’s College London. “The Javelin IVL catheter helps bridge a critical gap in the management of CLTI in patients with complex multi-level disease.”
Michael has more than 19 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.