Rapid Medical has announced enrolment of the first patient in its COGNITIVE study—which, according to the company, is the first study to examine a link between mechanical thrombectomy and cognitive improvement. Tigertriever—described by Rapid as “the only active stent retriever”—may uniquely preserve cognitive function with a tailored approach to removing thrombus while limiting impact to the natural vessel.
National principal investigator Fawaz Al-Mufti (Westchester Medical Center, Westchester, USA) performed the first procedure as part of the global prospective, multicentre, single-arm COGNITIVE study.
“This is a significant milestone for the neurointerventional field,” said Al-Mufti. “Up to 70% of stroke patients will experience cognitive impairment. While we know thrombectomy improves functional outcomes, such as limb movement, we have yet to determine the impact on patients’ cognition. Because of Tigertriever, this study could re-examine how we treat patients.”
The Tigertriever revascularisation device is the “first” active thrombectomy device that eliminates the existing ‘trade-offs’ of conventional thrombectomy and, according to Rapid, published data have already proven its positive impact on patient outcomes. In contrast to leading conventional stent retrievers that self-expand to capture clots, Tigertriever enables physicians to adjust intra-arterially for vessel protection and tailored patient procedures.
The company claims that, in a prior multicentre analysis comparing seven pivotal stent retriever trials, Tigertriever presented faster procedure times, high first-pass revascularisation rates, and good clinical outcomes.
“Rapid Medical plans to enrol up to 450 patients at 50 sites. Patients between the ages of 18–75 years who present with a large vessel occlusion (LVO) and are treated with Tigertriever for thrombus removal may be included,” commented Walid Haddad, chief clinical officer at Rapid. “We’re proud to be at the forefront of this research and are honoured to partner with clinical leaders like Dr Al-Mufti who share the same commitment to advancing this space.”
A company press release details that Satoshi Tateshima (University of California Los Angeles Medical Center, Los Angeles, USA) is among additional national principal investigators for COGNITIVE, and the late Justin Singer—who was director of the vascular neurosurgery programme at Spectrum Health (Grand Rapids, USA) and a member of the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS)—was instrumental in the study’s design.
