With the arrival of the drug-eluting stent cardiologists will be able to treat a much broader range of patients and lesions than ever before. As cardiologists tackle more challenging lesions such as distal, main stem and ostial RCA stenosis, or proximal LAD lesions in diabetics, they will place even more reliance on the balloon as they prepare the vessel for stenting.

We know from the results of the SIRIUS trial that careful predilation and deployment technique are key factors in obtaining excellent clinical results with drug-eluting stents. It is for these reasons and based on feedback from the interventional cardiology community that Cordis has developed the AQUA T3, described as the PTCA balloon of the drug-eluting stent era. The following is a brief commentary on a short period of evaluation of the AQUA T3 at our center in Hamburg, Germany.

Based on my experience to date with the AQUA T3 it appears that it will help cardiologists restrict injury to the vessel, thanks to the balloon-to-lesion matching (to avoid unnecessary vessel trauma) and the incorporation of reliable balloon material to resist calcified lesions. In short, we feel that this new device will provide a new standard for performance in coronary angioplasty catheters. This is particularly pertinent since to the best of my knowledge, the AQUA T3 is the only balloon to combine the benefits of a highly crossable balloon with low compliance and good pressure resistance.

With regard to performance issues we were impressed by the increased pushability of the AQUA T3, which Cordis attributes to its innovative TranSeal technology, and the ability to navigate through tortuous anatomy. We also found that the soft, flexible tapered tip provides a smooth transition to the guidewire, thereby enhancing the crossing of tight lesions.

- 'Cardio UPDATE' a Newsletter from Cordis, February 2003