Acandis has announced that it will play a supporting role in the ICARUS study, which was recently launched by University Hospital Basel (Basel, Switzerland)—under the direction of Marios Psychogios—to evaluate urgent stenting in the treatment of intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD)-related large vessel occlusion (LVO) strokes. The first patient was successfully enrolled in April 2025.
In a press release, Acandis states that it is “proud” to be listed as a collaborator in this investigator-initiated study alongside the Swiss National Science Foundation.
“As a company committed to advancing neurovascular care, we support important investigator-initiated studies like ICARUS,” said Andreas Schüßler, chief executive officer (CEO) of Acandis. “With our Credo Heal stent and NeuroSpeed PTA [percutaneous transluminal angioplasty] balloon catheter, we are proud to contribute technologies that meet the procedural demands of ICAD-related interventions. This study has the potential to help establish new treatment guidelines, offering more patients access to life-saving therapies.”
Acandis’ release notes that the ICARUS trial addresses a “significant unmet need” in acute stroke treatment as, to date, no clear guideline recommendations exist for the use of urgent intracranial stenting in patients with LVOs caused by ICAD who do not achieve recanalisation after standard endovascular therapy (EVT). As a result, treatment decisions in this high-risk patient group are “often based on clinical experience rather than robust data”.
This international, multicentre randomised controlled study will compare two approaches: early intracranial stenting versus continued conventional EVT involving stent retrievers or aspiration catheters. The trial is set to include 498 adult patients across several European centres, and will assess both functional outcomes and safety endpoints to provide “much-needed clinical evidence for this complex therapeutic setting”.
As per Acandis’ recent release, further patient recruitment in ICARUS is ongoing, with additional participating centres expected to open in the coming months.
The company also states that, complementing these efforts, it is sponsoring the RECHRUT study. Led by principal investigator Hannes Nordmeyer (Städtisches Klinikum Solingen, Solingen, Germany), this prospective, multicentre, observational study—initiated in January 2023—is evaluating the use of the Credo Heal stent and NeuroSpeed balloon for achieving recanalisation in ICAD-related LVO patients following unsuccessful thrombectomy treatment.
