FDA approves Apollo Onyx microcatheter

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Covidien has announced US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of its Apollo Onyx delivery microcatheterthe first detachable tip micro catheter available in the USA. The new micro catheter is designed to mitigate the technical challenges of catheter retrieval during Onyx liquid embolic system embolisations of brain arteriovenous malformations.

A brain arteriovenous malformation occurs when a tangle of blood vessels in the brain or on its surface bypasses normal brain tissue and directly diverts blood from the arteries to the veins. Normally, arteries carry blood containing oxygen from the heart to the brain, and veins carry blood with less oxygen away from the brain and back to the heart. According to the American Heart Association, brain arteriovenous malformations occur in approximately one in 200 to 500 people and are more common in males than in females.

“This new game-changing device will improve physicians’ options for treating patients with brain arteriovenous malformations,” says Alejandro Berenstein, director, Center for Endovascular Surgery at the Hyman-Newman Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery at Mount Sinai Health Systems in New York City, USA. “The Apollo Onyx microcatheter provides a very important added safety mechanism for catheter retrieval during Onyx LES embolisations of brain arteriovenous malformations, permitting a more complete treatment in a much safer manner.”

The Apollo Onyx microcatheter enables physicians to choose the best catheter position for each procedure, according to the company. It can provide optimal navigability through complex distal anatomy as well as a proprietary detachable tip designed for easier catheter retrieval in challenging environments.


The Apollo Onyx microcatheter will be showcased at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery’s (SNIS) 11th annual meeting (2831 July; Colorado, USA).