This next-generation drug-eluting stent will use the popular Driver™ bare metal cobalt alloy stent platform and the drug Zotarolimus (ABT-578), along with the proprietary, biocompatible drug delivery polymer developed by Medtronic. Prof. Ian Meredith, Monash Medical Centre, is the principal investigator of the Medtronic RESOLUTE clinical study evaluating the new stent. This first-in-man study will enroll up to 100 patients at 12 clinical sites in Australia and New Zealand.

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Published in  Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2005 Dec 5

In the early years of diagnostic cardiac catheterization, strict sterile precautions were required for cutdown procedures. Thirteen years ago, when the original guidelines were written, the brachial arteriotomy was still frequently utilized, femoral closure devices were uncommon, “implantables,” such as intracoronary stents and PFO/ASD closure devices, were in their infancy, and percutaneous valve replacement was not a consideration. In 2005, the cardiac catheterization laboratory is a complex interventional suite with percutaneous access routine and device implantation standard. Despite frequent device implantation, strict sterile precautions are often not observed. Reasons for this include a decline in brachial artery cutdown, limited postprocedure follow-up with few reported infections, limited use of hats and masks in televised cases, and lack of current guidelines. Proper sterile technique has the potential to decrease the patient infection rate. Hand washing remains the most important procedure for preventing infections. Caps, masks, gowns, and gloves help to protect the patient by maintaining a sterile field. Protection of personnel may be accomplished by proper gowning, gloving, and eye wear, disposal of contaminated equipment, and prevention and care of puncture wounds and lacerations. With the potential for acquired disease from blood-borne pathogens, the need for protective measures is as essential in the cardiac catheterization laboratory as is the standard Universal Precautions, which are applied throughout the hospital.

Pubmed link

American College of Cardiology/Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions Clinical Expert Consensus Document on Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Standards.

45 pages document. Download it in the PDF