IR physicians have consistently stated that the biggest problem with existing microcatheters is a lack of active control which leads to increased procedure time, cost and risk to patient outcomes.

During a procedure, the interventionalist uses a guidewire in concert with the microcatheter to select the desired vessels. This process can be hampered by a variety of factors such as vessel tortuosity, acute branch-point angles, presence of atherosclerotic plaque, and user skill level. While complex cases can often be anticipated from pre-procedural imaging, other factors, such as microvessel wall compliance or additional variant anatomy, are often encountered during the procedure.

Difficulties in navigation can result in added procedure time, unpredictable scheduling, increased radiation exposure, and, in time-critical processes such as a ruptured pseudoaneurysm, poorer clinical outcomes. These problems are compounded when there are multiple targets that require repositioning into different vessels.

Active deflection, where the catheter tip angle can be adjusted in situ by the user, would allow the interventionalist to deflect a guidewire in a preferred direction. This would obviate the need to exchange for a passive microcatheter or guidewire of a different shape or stiffness, and would reduce reliance on specialized guide catheters.

The Agile Angler® deflectable microcatheter gives clinicians all of the benefits of a standard microcatheter plus the added ability to actively deflect / steer the distal tip intraoperatively with or without a guide wire in place.  This means you don’t need multiple tip shape product codes or multiple device exchanges to reach the target more quickly and easily.