Deborah One of the First Hospitals in the World to Use New TAPAS™ Catheter
Unique New Device Allows Targeted Delivery of Therapeutic Agents

Richard Kovach, M.D., Chair, Interventional Cardiology and Director, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Deborah Heart and Lung Center recently debuted the new TAPAS Catheter developed by ThermopeutiX, Inc. and marketed and distributed by The Spectranetics Corporation.

Deborah is one of the first three hospitals in the world to premiere this new technology. The device received FDA approval in December 2011.

The TAPAS Catheter is designed for use in peripheral vascular disease treatment. It is an innovative system with two compliant occlusion balloons that can deliver a controlled therapeutic -- or diagnostic -- agent and dose. This therapeutic infusion system has an adjustable length, so that long vessels can be treated with one device. It also offers the capability of extracting the medicine out of the vascular treatment zone if necessary, so there is no drug run-off during a localized intravascular treatment. The TAPAS Catheter can be used in conjunction with other interventional devices.

“We are thrilled to be able to have this new device in our arsenal of tools for fighting peripheral vascular disease,” said Dr. Kovach. “Using the TAPAS Catheter we can now infuse and control specific drugs to match a patient’s specific clinical needs. The length of the catheter is especially important with the long vessels of the legs, and the device’s versatility allows us to both locally deliver medicines as well as remove medicines during a procedure. This device is of great benefit to our patients because of the ability to combine multiple procedures through one delivery system, making an endovascular diagnostic or interventional procedure that much less invasive.”

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