MEDTRONIC MICRO-DRIVER CORONARY STENT APPROVED IN JAPAN

Japanese regulators have approved Medtronic's Micro-Driver coronary stent, the firm said Sept. 19.

The Micro-Driver is made of cobalt-chromium allow and designed for small blood vessels requiring stents smaller than 3 millimeters in diameter, Medtronic said. The device is an extension of the Medtronic Driver, an implanted bare metal stent for patients with larger blood vessels.

Cobalt-chromium stents are stronger and denser than stainless steel stents, but provide excellent flexibility, deliverability and vessel support following angioplasty procedures, the firm said.

The Micro-Driver's small size and rounded modular design "may be particularly appropriate for procedures in which drug-eluting stents aren't able to reach challenging lesions or for patients suffering from acute myocardial infarction," Medtronic said.