Percutaneous transluminal microwave angioplasty catheter

The authors describe a microwave balloon angioplasty catheter and its in vitro and in vivo effects on arterial tissue. Microwave energy, producing heat at the end of a balloon angioplasty catheter, can cause softening of an arterial plaque prior to or during inflation of the balloon. This process may result in more effective and longer-lasting dilation of previously stenosed arteries. Furthermore, there is a thermal compression of the three layers of the artery. Such thermal compression has potentially beneficial effects, including a decrease in arterial elastic recoil.<>