Grant: Proof of Principle Program - Phase I

The project aims at performing validations of a novel method used to recanalize obstructed peripheral and coronary arteries such as chronic total occlusions (CTOs). This project is directed at a first demonstration of the efficacy, safety and clinical applicability of the method. The project will involve a team of engineers from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS) and cardiologists from the Sherbrooke University Hospital (CHUS) and the Montreal Heart Institute (ICM). The proposed system offers a radically different solution to the problem of crossing chronic total occlusions as it offers a new energy source for crossing occlusions, namely high-amplitude mechanical waves such a shock waves, which have been shown to be safe and effective in other medical contexts such as urology and orthopaedics. As well, with the proposed system the energy deposition device is the wire itself, which can be engineered to have similar physical and mechanical properties as existing guidewires, and not some bulky catheter that is difficult to maneuver to the occlusion.