Avinger Inc., a developer of innovative treatments for peripheral artery disease (PAD), has announced a newly issued U.S. patent covering the company’s Pantheris image-guided atherectomy system.

This is the fifth patent issued by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) related to Avinger’s Pantheris image-guided atherectomy system. The patent describes an atherectomy catheter, which is a device used to remove plaque from blood vessels, including real-time image guidance using optical coherence tomography, a displaceable tip, and a balloon to urge the catheter’s cutting element into the tissue to be removed. The next-generation version of this system was cleared by the FDA for commercial sale in the U.S. in May 2018. Pantheris is the only commercially available atherectomy device with onboard intravascular image-guidance.

“The issuance of this patent by the USPTO is an important milestone in Avinger’s development of image-guided devices for the treatment of PAD,” said Himanshu Patel, Avinger’s co-founder and chief technology officer. “Our extensive patent portfolio is an important source of competitive advantage as more and more physicians recognize the value of our lumivascular technology in obtaining the best clinical outcomes for their patients.”

Avinger is a commercial-stage medical device company that designs and develops an image-guided, catheter-based system that diagnoses and treats patients with PAD. The disease affects an estimated 12 million people in the U.S. and over 200 million worldwide.