The Halliburton Endarterectomy Catheter

We are investigating a novel atherectomy catheter, invented by Alexander Halliburton, a local Alberta inventor.
This Halliburton catheter has  several design advantages over other available atherectomy catheters and standard balloon angioplasty catheters. These advantages are:

• Simplicity of design; the cut is performed by mechanical action requiring no high speed rotating parts.
• The cutting edge moves forward at high speed to complete a plaque excision.
• There is no motor drive or cooling system, as there is no high speed rotation involved in the mechanism.
• The catheter has a very low profile, with an outside diameter of 1.0 - 3.5 mm; the working model can be manufactured with plastic or stainless steel. This catheter is therefore competitive with standard balloon angioplasty model catheters.
• The assembly is extremely flexible and negotiates circuitous arteries well.
• The device can perform multiple cuts or excisions.
• The cost is low.
 
To date we have successfully developed a prototype catheter capable of negotiating and entering coronary arteries 1.0 - 3.5 mm in diameter. Atherosclerotic plaque has been excised successfully from human coronary artery necropsy specimens. Initial test of the catheter prototype have been completed, in vitro, in specimens of human coronary arteries. Of the specimens 90% demonstrated effective  plaque excision on gross morphological examination. To date the Halliburton atherectomy catheter has been successfully introduced in to the aorta of eight normal roosters. The immediate angiographic examination revealed minimal adverse effects. The long-term results are pending. The first atherectomy procedure on an occluded femoral artery in a cholesterol fed rooster has been performed.


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