What is an atherectomy?

Have you ever heard of an atherectomy?  An atherectomy is used to treat narrowing in arteries caused by peripheral artery disease.  What happens is you get fatty streaks built up in the artery and they clog up.  So, in an angioplasty (which my grandmother had about 20 years ago), a balloon is inflated and passed though the blocked artery and the plaque is pushed into the sides, widening the pathway for better blood flow.  With an atherectomy the plaque is actually removed rather than pushed aside.  There are different methods for this (shown below), but the end result is the same.



This is some pretty amazing stuff but how does this relate to CrossWind Machining?  CrossWind machines components for the rotational version of the atherectomy which is where a special burr or drill on the tip of a catheter rotates to shave the plaque into tiny pieces.  Sometimes, sitting here at my desk, I forget how amazing the technology is that we work with.  I literally hold pieces in my hand (about 500 pcs at a time because they are so tiny) that will go into someone’s artery to greatly impact their quality of life.
  
It wasn’t until I started this blog that I really started to explore how the components we manufacture are actually utilized.  It’s honestly made me more excited about CrossWind than I already was.  I will most likely never know anyone who has specifically had one of our components assembled into the finished product used in their particular surgery (except for my best friend, you can read that in my 1st blog post), but it’s good to know that the meticulous-ness is for a very good cause.

Check out this video of a directional atherectomy performed using Boston Scientific’s Jetstream System! 

·        

I hope I never have to need one of our products, personally. But if I do, I’m sure glad they’re there!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is Going Automated Worth the Investment?

Image
With new technology comes change in the way we do everyday things.  For instance I spend about 5 minutes, before I even get out of bed, checking the weather for the week, reading through my emails and texts, checking my Facebook updates, and maybe even playing a word or 2 on Words With Friends.  Sometimes I’ll text my husband or one of my sons about something that needs to be taken care of or to ask co-workers if they need anything for the shop on my way in and then update my shopping list.  I haven’t even left my bed yet and I’ve already done so many things that I couldn’t have done, from the comfort of my bed, without my smartphone.  Now I did have to spend a few hundred dollars on this phone so that I would be able to do these things, but it saves me a lot of time searching the internet or reading a newspaper (which hardly anyone does anymore anyways) for the exact same information.  Not to mention, when I show up at work I won’t have to turn around and head back to town to
Read more

How Will ISO 13485:2016 Impact Your Relationship With Suppliers & Why You Should Be Using ISO 13485:2016 CERTIFIED Suppliers From Now On

The 2016 revision to ISO 13485 may have profound implications for the medical device industry. The updated standard will alter the way device makers interact with suppliers, from supplier selection to the management of supplier relationships. Speaking as the Quality Systems Director of CrossWind Machining (component manufacturer for the medical device industry) and just completing our ISO 13485:2016 Certification, the new 2016 revision (from 2003) is all about mitigating risk from every aspect of the medical device manufacturing process . And with ISO 13485:2003 no longer being valid after 2019, suppliers are having to decide how much time & money they are willing to put into separating themselves. What the new Standard Says About Risk One particularly   notable change with ISO 13485:2016   is the addition of more explicit risk management requirements. Companies will be required to consider the risk associated with a device from conception through its use. Device makers must p
Read more

3D Printing vs. CNC Machining

Image
             Recently I have been looking into 3D printing for Crosswind Machining.  There is so much buzz all over the news and internet about it and I wondered if we could benefit from adding it to our shop floor. I think companies need to always be open to change.  Not only so that we make quality products with the machines that we already have, but also looking for ways to improve our capabilities to serve our customers with new ideas and new technology. As a matter of fact our Quality Policy states ”… to consistently surpass customers’ expectations in both quality and delivery scheduling.  We make every effort to continually maintain and improve our system.” That includes looking at newer technologies like 3d printing.  After doing quite a bit of research I have no doubt in my mind that this technology will play a large part of the manufacturing industry in the next 10 years.  Additive manufacturing is being utilized in multiple fields already such as medical, manufacturing,
Read more