2012 Volume 5 Issue 3 Pages 167-170
Background: The 3.3Fr catheter is reported as a useful tool for less invasive cerebral angiography. However, this catheter has not been widely used because it is considered difficult to manipulate. We herein report our assessment of two types of 3.3Fr catheters that have been newly developed for cerebral angiography.
Materials and methods: The two types of newly developed 3.3Fr catheters (3.3Fr-A and 3.3Fr-B) and the existing one (3.3Fr-C) were compared to the conventional 4Fr catheter with regard to the following parameters: torque transmission, trackability, and kink resistance.
Result: The 3.3Fr-A catheter had inferior torque transmission, similar trackability, and superior kink resistance compared with the 4Fr catheter. On the other hand, the 3.3Fr-B catheter had superior torque transmission, inferior trackability, and similar kink resistance compared with the 4Fr catheter. Furthermore, the 3.3Fr-C catheter was inferior to the 4Fr catheter in terms of all three parameters, and also inferior to both 3.3Fr-A and 3.3Fr-B catheters.
Conclusion: The newly developed 3.3Fr catheters may be useful for cerebral angiography because their maneuverability is expected to be similar to that of 4Fr catheters.
