The COEfficient The COEfficient - Capital Health

FEATURE
Miniaturizing tools for tots
Physician-designed
infant catheter
finds open market
Dr.Yashu Coe,
pediatric interventional cardiologist at the Stollery Children’s
Hospital, says the mortality rate for the treatment of defective
heart valves in infants is now zero per cent. “Here at the Stollery,
we’ve never had a procedural or late mortality.”
Each year, the Stollery Children’s
Hospital treats five to 10 infants for
aortic stenosis (a narrowed aortic valve),
one of eight common abnormalities that
account for approximately 80 per cent
of congenital heart defects.
At one time, surgery was the treatment
of choice. Then, 10 to 20 years ago,
angioplasty offered an alternative.
This procedure involves inserting
and guiding a catheter into the heart
through either a vein or an artery and
inflating a balloon across the valve to
eliminate the severely narrow valve
opening. When he first began using
Adult catheter (left) guide wire is
0.035 inches compared with the infant
catheter (right) at 0.018 of an inch.
The infant catheter is more flexible
and slimmer, allowing for easier
navigation through the heart.
this procedure, Dr. Coe found the
balloon too fragile or the catheter
too big for tiny babies’ bodies, and
was determined to find a solution
to improve the treatment for these
critically sick infants.
After conducting initial research,
Dr. Coe, also a Professor of Pediatrics at
the University of Alberta, approached
various manufacturers to help him
custom design a catheter to his specifications.
When he finally discovered
NuMed, a U.S. manufacturer with
a facility in Canada, within a month,
Dr. Coe had in hand his tot-specific
catheter for angioplasty operations.
“What’s neat about this is that it’s small;
and the balloon – it’s very, very strong.”
The COEfficient, as the tool is named,
has since saved the lives of many infants.
The catheter is now also used to
correct severely malfunctioning
pulmonary valves in newborns,
at times a life-threatening condition
that must be addressed immediately.
Angioplasty operations come with the
additional blessing that “the baby can
usually go home sooner,” says Dr. Coe,
unlike the longer recovery period
required for more invasive surgery.
With its new U.S. Food and Drug
Administration’s stamp of approval,
the COEfficient is ready for the open
market. Until recently it was little known.
In fact, not long ago in Germany,
a delighted Dr. Coe impressed staff
at a hospital he was visiting when
they proudly revealed their “new”
infant catheter – then discovered
the design was his.
LAUGHING DOG PHOTOGRAPHY
www.capitalhealth.ca SUMMER 2006 ~ CHQ 7