SUNNYVALE, Calif. — FlowCardia, Inc., a worldwide leader in the development of endovascular devices for the treatment of chronic total occlusions (CTOs), today announced the U.S. launch of the Over the Wire (OTW) delivery platform for the CROSSER® 14S and CROSSER® 14P peripheral CTO recanalization catheters.

The Over the Wire CROSSER Catheter delivery platform provides interventional cardiologists, vascular surgeons, and interventional radiologists with an endovascular tool to treat even the most distal and complex peripheral occlusions. CROSSER OTW catheters facilitate guidewire exchanges using peripheral interventionalists’ preferred delivery platform, thus providing various levels of catheter support, pushability, and steerability during percutaneous treatment in patients suffering from blocked arteries in the legs.

“The new Over the Wire CROSSER Catheter allows me to freely exchange my guidewire, giving me the steerability and support necessary to tackle the toughest of CTOs with ease”

said Dr. David Allie, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Medical Center of Acadiana in Lafayette, LA.

“When faced with CTOs, I use CROSSER as my frontline therapy to stay in the central lumen, giving me the freedom to choose the best subsequent treatment option for patients suffering from completely blocked arteries.”

Arterial blockages known as Chronic Total Occlusions (CTOs) develop over time as plaque builds-up on arterial walls, ultimately closing off the artery and causing leg pain and non-healing ulcers. CTOs are present in almost half of patients who undergo angiographic testing for Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) and are often treated with new, catheter based endovascular approaches, rather than traditional methods, such as medical management, bypass graft surgery or even amputation.

The CROSSER Catheter is a minimally-invasive endovascular device that utilizes high-frequency, mechanical vibration to facilitate passage through blockages in the peripheral and coronary arteries. It is designed as a frontline therapy to enable central lumen crossing of chronically occluded arteries thereby maximizing physicians’ therapeutic options. Over 7,500 CROSSER Catheter procedures have been performed to date by physicians around the world.

FlowCardia, Inc. is a privately held medical device company established in 2002 to design and manufacture a portfolio of endovascular CTO recanalization products. The CROSSER CTO Recanalization Catheter, steerable support catheters, and Porter guidewires comprise a family of tools which enable physicians to quickly cross chronic total occlusions allowing for subsequent balloon angioplasty, atherectomy, and/or stent placement. Additional information is available on the company’s web site at: www.flowcardia.com.