Problem: Coronary angioplasty and stent implantation is one of the more commonly performed cardiac procedures. In the US alone, there were almost 2 million coronary stents implanted in 2021. During these procedures, successful implantation is reliant on securely crimping the stent around the balloon catheter for the appropriate vessel size while minimizing potential mechanical stress to the leaflets during this securement. Improper securement or excessive leaflet damage can lead to stent loss. Mechanical crimping devices are commonly used to precisely secure the stent to the catheter. These, however, are expensive units and not always readily available to customize the appropriate sizing. Surgeons are often required to manually crimp stents in real-time to appropriately fit the stent based on the size of the vessel or in cases where the vessels are tortuous. Manual crimping though can be less precise and increase the risk of adverse events occurring, including bleeding, embolism, or causing infarctions. Thus, there is a need for a sterile, disposable solution surgeons can turn to in real-time to safely and securely crimp stents during procedures. Solution: Dr. Gareth Morgan and Nicholas Jacobson have proposed a plastic, sterile crimping device to manually crimp cardiac stents. This would provide an inexpensive and disposable solution for surgeons to use when needed. Advantages and Value Propositions: A novel solution to provide physicians with a sterile application to crimp catheter-delivered stents in real-time. This provides an inexpensive option for physicians to precisely crimp stents to meet the needs of the procedure. There are currently no available options on the market for surgeons to use that meet these requirements.
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