Myocardial ischemia is a medical term for oxygen-deprived myocardium (i.e. heart muscle). Prolonged ischemia leads to an irreversible myocardial infarction. TherOx, Inc. has devises a way to deliver hyperbaric levels of oxygen to the heart to salvage tissue affected by acute myocardial infarction. For its achievements the company has been awarded with the 2005 Acute Myocardial Infarction Excellence in Technology of the Year Award by Frost & Sullivan.
From company’s website:
Using patented technology, the TherOx® AO System produces sterile aqueous oxygen (AO) solution on-demand from hospital-supplied, medical-grade oxygen and sterile, physician-prescribed saline. The system creates and mixes the AO solution with the patient’s blood from an arterial puncture, and delivers the resulting hyperoxemic blood back to the patient’s coronary artery via a sub-selective AO delivery catheter. This type of treatment has never before been achieved outside of a hyperbaric chamber.
The initial application for the AO system is acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The system is designed to be used adjunctively with current interventional therapies, including stenting, coronary angioplasty, and other interventional procedures.
The TherOx® AO System utilizes two disposable components for each 90-minute AO therapeutic treatment. The TherOx AO Cartridge is easily installed into the AO system for the production of AO solution. The AO cartridge contains a sterile fluid path for connection to the patient arterial pathway via a specialized sub-selective AO delivery catheter. The AO delivery catheter is used for controlled, selective infusion of the AO-treated, hyperoxemic blood to the patient’s ischemic region.
The TherOx AO Cartridge is a disposable, three-chambered cartridge that installs easily into the AO system for the 90-minute AO therapy procedure. The AO cartridge incorporates a sterile draw and return fluid path for transporting the patient’s blood.
The TherOx® AO Catheter is a 4.6F sub-selective catheter that easily fits into a large bore 6F guide catheter using a 8F femoral introducer sheath. The AO catheter is 135 cm in length for delivery of hyperoxemic (AO-treated) blood at a rate of 75 cc/minute. The design accommodates standard 0.014” coronary guide wires, and is intended to pass freely through commercially available guiding catheters.
Arterial access can also be achieved contralaterally, utilizing an additional femoral stick or a radial stick.
More at TherOx…
