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“If you take all the good things about the gold-standard catheters on the market and add some improvements—better ‘pushability’, and a very good transition from atraumatic tip to kink-resistant shaft—I would say that’s what this device offers,” says Fritz Wodarg (University Medical Center Schleswig Holstein [UKSH], Kiel, Germany), outlining his views on the recently launched CEREGLIDETM 71 with TruCourseTM aspiration catheter (Johnson & Johnson [J&J] MedTech Neurovascular).
CEREGLIDE 71 is an aspiration catheter that has been engineered with TruCourse technology in an effort to improve its flexibility and navigability, and ultimately enable physicians to tackle even the most challenging anatomical conditions when performing mechanical thrombectomy procedures.
Touted by J&J MedTech Neurovascular as a next-generation catheter for the revascularisation of patients with acute ischaemic stroke, CEREGLIDE 71 was first introduced in late 2023, with initial US cases taking place in October prior to its official launch in the USA in February of this year.
And, shortly before its full market release in Europe in April 2024, early clinical cases with CEREGLIDE 71 took place in February, with Wodarg being among the first European physicians to get their hands on the device. “I was lucky to be very much involved in the benchtop testing of the catheter itself, and also some prototypes beforehand,” he notes. “I absolutely appreciated the way the company handled things, because this was all based on an older catheter model—which I criticised a lot!”
Wodarg goes on to detail that, while his dissatisfaction with this previous iteration of the device was based purely on “personal opinion”, J&J MedTech Neurovascular took his feedback into consideration when designing and developing its latest aspiration catheter technology. Through detailed questionnaires and, later, extensive prototyping, he recalls feeling that the company “really wanted to know” how the catheter could be improved.
“This is the best way to take criticism,” Wodarg says. “If you hear from the users that they are not happy with the product, ask them why and try to find out what the company can do better. It was really fun to be a small part of it because the [J&J MedTech Neurovascular] team listened—obviously, not just to me, but to many others—and they tried to build based on what they heard from the users, which was impressive.”
Early experiences
Based on feedback from Wodarg and a number of his peers from across Europe and the USA, J&J MedTech Neurovascular produced several device prototypes, and undertook extensive benchtop testing to evaluate the safety and overall performance of its latest generation of aspiration catheters before launching CEREGLIDE 71 at the beginning of 2024.
Wodarg’s centre in Germany was one of the first in Europe to have the catheter available in daily clinical practice, initially acquiring it in the spring of this year. His colleagues are using it in an ever-increasing number of cases, and Wodarg himself now considers it his go-to aspiration catheter in the treatment of acute ischaemic stroke.
Speaking to NeuroNews at the 2024 European Society of Minimally Invasive Neurological Therapy (ESMINT) congress (4–6 September, Marseille, France), he states that CEREGLIDE 71 has already been used in 30–40 cases at UKSH—noting that, while there are some exceptions in strokes caused by more distal occlusions, it is a “good option” for most thrombectomy procedures involving an aspiration catheter.
“It’s a question of vessel diameters and where the occlusion is located,” Wodarg explains, outlining in more detail the cases in which CEREGLIDE 71 is likely to be most appropriate. “In a straight anatomy, we can use [most] catheters, so the advantages of this catheter are more and more obvious the more elongated and difficult the vasculature is. These patients are, if you like, the ‘best’ for this catheter, but you can use it for every stroke as long as the vessels are big enough. I use it for basilar occlusions, M1 occlusions and distal ICA [internal carotid artery] occlusions—it will be too big for most M2 occlusions, although there may be very large M2s where it is also an option.”
In addition, Wodarg describes the translation of what was initially observed during benchtop testing into real-world practice as “fascinating”.
“It sets a focus on the very good bench models [J&J MedTech Neurovascular] has today,” he comments. “All the differences we found between different catheter types on the bench, I have also found in patients. Of course, clinical testing up to now has not been as intense compared to the hundreds of tries and all the brutality you can use in a benchtop model, so it’s different—but, I have the exact same advantages in patients that the catheter provided on the bench.”
According to J&J MedTech Neurovascular, the company’s proficiency in device development—referenced here by Wodarg—is due in no small part to the dedicated, high-level stroke research its R&D headquarters at the Neuro Technology Centre (Galway, Ireland) is currently producing.
Positive features and clinical benefits
Discussing the characteristics of CEREGLIDE 71 that he values most, Wodarg states that the device has a slightly larger lumen compared to previous prototypes, and the catheter tip provides comparably good flexibility and trackability making it “very easy to navigate”. In addition, he describes the device’s tip as “extremely atraumatic”, which he notes is an important feature when it comes to bringing such a large catheter up into the intracranial circulation while minimising the risk of dissections or vessel ruptures.
However, a more novel feature he appreciates is a “very good transition” from this “atraumatic” soft tip to a stiffer catheter shaft, providing support and giving operators the ability to apply more force when advancing the device. This is the most notable way in which CEREGLIDE 71 improves upon the past device iteration, where ‘pushability’ was sometimes challenging, according to Wodarg.
“Imagine the gold-standard catheter you’re currently using, but just a bit better. As soon as you come to more complicated anatomies, you will feel the difference.”
“The way we can push the catheter, without making it kink, is better than with any other product I know of at the moment,” he adds. “That, in combination with a very good tip, is the main strength of the catheter.”
And, in addition to these technical aspects, Wodarg—speaking strictly about the German market—highlights the fact that J&J MedTech Neurovascular has managed to deliver “a good product for a reasonable price, which is definitely an important point when it comes to the hospital’s decision on whether or not to buy a catheter”.
Providing a message to any of his neurointerventional colleagues who may be considering the addition of CEREGLIDE 71 to their clinical practice, Wodarg comments: “Firstly, I would say, ‘imagine the gold-standard catheter you’re currently using, but just a bit better’. You can push it better, it will run up more easily. Just try it out and you will feel it—maybe not in the very first case or an easy case but, as soon as you come to more complicated anatomies, you will feel the difference.”
With more than 2,000 of these devices now in the field at 145 centres across 20 European countries, Wodarg believes that the aforementioned improvements—alongside the strong safety profile enabled by its “atraumatic” tip—“could make CEREGLIDE 71 a new gold standard”.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions and experiences shared in this article are the personal perspectives of a paid HCP and do not necessarily reflect the views of J&J MedTech Neurovascular.
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