Medtronic today announced an early, site-limited release of its recently acquired Rist radial access guide catheters.

The Rist 079 catheter is designed for the introduction of interventional devices into the peripheral, coronary and neuro vasculature using the radial artery in the wrist. The Rist radial access selective catheter is designed to introduce interventional devices into the peripheral, coronary and neuro vasculature and can facilitate the introduction of diagnostic agents in the neuro vasculature.

“Rist 079 radial access guide catheter is the first catheter that has been specifically designed for neurointerventions using the radial artery pathway in the wrist. This is the first-of-its-kind device that optimizes transition zones for the required navigability and support that is unique to the radial trajectory when compared to the femoral approach,” Webster Crowley, chief of cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery at Rush University Medical center, said in a news release. “The Rist radial access portfolio gives clinicians who perform neurovascular procedures the full spectrum of access and delivery devices that are optimized for the patient’s condition and anatomy. This should help improve the care we deliver to patients treated for neurovascular conditions.”

Medtronic acquired Rist Neurovascular and its Rist 079 Radial Access Guide catheter and the Rist radial access selective catheter in August 2020 for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition expanded Medtronic’s neuromuscular portfolio to serve patients that require interventional neurovascular therapy.

“The Rist radial access portfolio is an ideal strategic fit for Medtronic as our goal is to offer the most advanced, patient-preferred delivery tools to meet the needs of neurovascular professionals,” Stacey Pugh, Medtronic’s neurovascular therapies business president, said. “We are excited to announce that we have completed more than 80 cases in our limited market release evaluation at 12 institutions and are very pleased with performance and physician feedback. We also will be developing and expanding the portfolio to fully serve the broad patient population.”

Rist Neurovascular received FDA clearance for the catheters in February 2020.