Cook Completes Study Enrollment for Novel Below-the-Knee Vascular Access Technique

Cook Medical (Bloomington, IN) completed enrollment for a clinical trial to study the treatment of arterial occlusions through a retrograde tibiopedal approach.

The technique gives physicians vascular access through arteries below a patient's knee and could be used for the treatment of peripheral arterial disease and critical limb ischemia. In particular, this access technique could prove valuable to patients who can not qualify for other interventional treatments.

Last week, The Lancet noted that peripheral artery disease has become a global epidemic. Over the past decade, there have been 38 million new PAD cases reported.

For the Tibiopedal Access for Crossing of Infrainguinal Artery Occlusions study, Cook Medical enrolled 200 qualified patients with obstructed arteries of the lower limb. Through this novel approach, physicians access a patient's blood vessels below the knee through the use of a specialized needle. Catheters and guidewires are advanced up a patient's leg to reach arterial blockages, allowing for the opening of an occlusion. Individual physicians have noted success with the use of this technique.

"This is a landmark study for Cook Medical and those suffering from CLI," stated Rob Lyles, vice president of the Peripheral Intervention division at Cook Medical. "We hope that completing enrollment is an important step in bringing the below-the-knee technique to patients, many of whom have had other procedures fail."