New Mechanical Device Removes Stroke-Causing Blood Clots From Brain

A new device that mechanically removes stroke-causing clots from the brain may be a game-changer for doctors, who have very few proven treatmentments for stroke, which the fourth leading cause of death and a common cause of long-term disability in the U.S.

In a recent clinical trial, the SOLITAIRE Flow Restoration Device outperformed the standard mechanical treatment. SOLITAIRE, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March, is among an entirely new generation of devices designed to remove blood clots from blocked brain arteries in patients experiencing an ischemic stroke. It has a self-expanding, stent-like design, and once inserted into a blocked artery using a thin catheter tube, it compresses and traps the clot. The clot then is removed by withdrawing the device, which reopens the blocked blood vessel.

Findings from a trial — SOLITAIRE With the Intention for Thrombectomy (SWIFT) — are available online from The Lancet and also will run in an upcoming print edition of the journal. For more information, click here to read the full release.