Peripheral Arterial Disease Treated with New Device

30 November 2009 (Last Updated November 30th, 2009 18:30)

A team of doctors and engineers in the US is working to develop a new medical device to prevent thrombosis in small-diameter blood vessels in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The research is focused on stents using Nitinol, a superelastic nickel and titanium alloy, known

A team of doctors and engineers in the US is working to develop a new medical device to prevent thrombosis in small-diameter blood vessels in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

The research is focused on stents using Nitinol, a superelastic nickel and titanium alloy, known for its high bending capability and shape recovery.

The team including has received a $1m challenge grant from the US National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for the project.

The new device will potentiality benefit 10 million Americans with PAD, a common circulatory problem in which narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to the limbs.