Q’Apel Medical has launched a new-generation aspiration technology, the 072 Hippo aspiration system, which has been developed for patients suffering from a stroke due to a large vessel occlusion.
The recently US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared stroke system—comprised of the 072 Hippo aspiration catheter and its Cheetah companion—represents a “paradigm shift” in emergent neurovascular intervention, as per a press release from the company.
“Our initial experience with the Hippo aspiration system really demonstrated outstanding system performance,” said Raymond Turner (PRISMA Health, Greenville, USA). “In my opinion, the impact of a highly visible and adaptive catheter tip is superior to other aspiration systems. I can determine when my catheter is engaged with the clot, as I could see the tip conforming to the thrombus. Once the thrombus was removed, the petals returned to their original state, so I knew I had success. This adaptive and visible tip aids physicians in making informed decisions, in real time, that leads to a successful thrombectomy outcomes for patients.”
The proprietary, adaptive tip of the Hippo catheter “redefines precision” in clot engagement and removal, ensuring tailored performance for varying clot morphologies and sizes, the release continues. According to Q’Apel, this unique feature offers physicians real-time visibility and control during the critical phases of the procedure, providing insights that were “previously unavailable”, and ultimately improving the odds for mechanical thrombectomies in fewer passes and leading to better functional outcomes for stroke patients.
The adaptive tip of the Hippo catheter is complemented by the Cheetah—a flexible guiding companion designed to accelerate delivery of Hippo to the face of the clot. Together, Hippo and Cheetah create “a synergistic system ensuring unparalleled speed, precision and integration” in thrombectomy procedures. Q’Apel states that this makes them the “ideal complement” to the company’s market-leading Walrus balloon guide catheter.
“When every minute during a stroke kills two million neurons, speed is essential,” said Elad Levy (Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, USA). “The Hippo-Cheetah combination allows for expediency with a high rate of first-pass recanalisation rates.”
“Hippo’s ability to adapt to various clot morphologies is impressive. Regardless of angulation, I can confirm engagement of the catheter on the clot, as I can now visualise this—which has never been possible before in an aspiration catheter,” Omar Tanweer (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA) added. “Paired with the Cheetah delivery tool, this was a fast and easy system to use, and has the potential to be practice-changing and cost-saving.”
“The anticipation of Hippo and Cheetah for Q’Apel has been enormous, and we are thrilled with the performance we have seen in clinic in our initial sites,” stated King Nelson, Q’Apel’s chief executive officer. “It is in Q’Apel’s DNA to bring to market highly differentiated products that truly provide a meaningful advantage and benefit to physicians, and their patients. The Hippo aspiration system also grants us the ability to offer physicians a complete stroke procedure. Hippo was designed to work with our market-leading balloon guide catheter, Walrus, and now we can marry the benefits of Walrus and the overwhelming evidence balloon guide catheters offer with the game-changing technology of Hippo.”
