ACC: Guide Wires Offer Physicians Many Steerable Choices

Cordis Corp. introduced the REGATTA Steerable Guidewire family of devices in the U.S. this week, which 12 selections of the REGATTA Steerable Guidewire and two choices of the REGATTA SB Steerable Guidewire. In April, the company plans to add the REGATTA HS Steerable Guidewire in two selections. The company says the line offers tailored solutions for the placement of catheters and other interventional devices in coronary arteries. The REGATTA Guidewires are all-purpose guidewires; the REGATTA SB Guidewires are designed to facilitate access to side branches; and the REGATTA HS Guidewires include features that ease placement in highly narrowed arteries. The three wires types are differentiated by variations in tip type, tip profile, lateral support and/or wire length. All versions of the wires feature a next-generation hydrophilic coating technology that prevents swelling and a single-piece steel core wire that enhances torque. In addition, the REGATTA Guidewires and the REGATTA HS Guidewires offer a unique microridge design for additional torque control. "When I tested the REGATTA Guidewire family, I was pleased to see each of them perform well under challenging circumstances," said Emerson C. Perin, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.C., director, New Interventional Cardiovascular Technology, Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, Texas. "It is good to see Cordis back in the cath lab with a strong and innovative line of steerable guidewires."