Tiny "Vacuum Cleaner" For the Brain – Interventional Catheter Removes Blood Clots in the Brain

The key is to get to a hospital as soon as possible with a stroke, especially one that is deemed a “stroke center” as they have interventional doctors to handle the problem. This is another procedure that is run via the groin and goes up to the brain and sucks out the clot. It saves the stroke victim and in many cases minimizes the paralysis effect sometimes incurred by stroke victims.

The company also has a clinical trial, called START to evaluate the outcomes of patients treated with the device and you can read more here. It is also listed at www.clinicaltrials.com. BD

Some doctors have described a Penumbra in terms of a pipe snake unclogging a bathroom drain. In fact, that's a relatively correct description if one were to look at how the medical device works: the Penumbra, a miniscule catheter device, is inserted into an artery in the groin. The device is then "guided" through the body-- through the heart and carotid artery, and into the brain. That's how Doctor John Whapham, assistant professor in the departments of Neurology and Neurological Surgery at Loyola University's Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, would described the procedure. In fact, Dr. Whapham used the procedure on Bobby Laird after she was rushed to the emergency room after suffering a stroke. According to Dr. Whapham, the procedure saved her life.

Dr. Whapham used the Penumbra to remove a blood clot from her brain. Without the procedure, Dr. Whapham estimates Laird's mortality rate between 60 and 80 percent, while the Penumbra procedure posed a mortality risk of only 3 to 4 percent.