STUDY RESULTS: CORKSCREW DEVICE HELPS STROKE PATIENTS

The Merci Retriever, the only medical device cleared by the FDA to remove clots from the brain in patients suffering an ischemic stroke, restored blood flow in nearly 70 percent of stroke patients, according to a new study.

In addition, one-out-of-three ischemic stroke patients was functionally independent at 90 days following the procedure, says the study, which was presented at the recent International Stroke Conference in Kissimmee, Fla.

The Merci Retriever is a "corkscrew-type" device that is delivered into the brain using catherization techniques. A small puncture in the groin is used to introduce the device into an artery leading to the brain. When the Merci Retrievers reaches the targeted area, it is designed to restore blood flow by engaging, capturing and removing the blood clot.

Concentric Medical, maker of the device, said the study consisted of 111 patients with moderate to severe ischemic stroke and that the blood flow restoration rate seen in the Multi Merci trial represents a 15 percent relative improvement for patients compared to those treated in the previous trial.

()a href="http://www.fdanews.com/ddl" target=_blank>