New Ablation Balloon Catheter Treatment for Barrett's Esophagus Launched

A leading biomedical healthcare provider has launched a new express Radio-Frequency Ablation (RFA) catheter that can reduce the risk of low-grade dysplasia by treating a precancerous condition called Barrett's esophagus.

The incidence of esophageal cancer is increasing faster than prostate cancer, breast cancer, and melanoma in the US. Barrett's esophagus, a result of chronic injury from Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), affects more than 12 million adults in America today.

The Medtronic (Dublin, Ireland) Barrx 360 Express catheter is a self-adjusting circumferential RFA catheter that enables gastroenterologists and surgeons to provide targeted precision therapy for treating Barrett’s esophagus. The RFA treatment removes diseased tissue with minimal damage to healthy tissue in the esophagus. The RFA therapy can reduce the risk of low-grade dysplasia progressing to cancer of the esophagus, by around 90%.

The new design of the Barrx 360 Express catheter can reduce procedure times by 20% by simplifying workflow steps and increasing the efficiency of Barrett's tissue ablation.

The Barrx 360 Express RFA balloon catheter is being launched first in the US, but is also expected to be on sale in New Zealand, Australia, and the EU in 2016.

Vafa Jamali, president Early Technologies, Medtronic Minimally Invasive Therapies, said, "In reducing the progression of dysplastic Barrett's esophagus to esophageal cancer, the launch of the Barrx 360 Express RFA balloon catheter underscores our commitment to patients. We believe patients and physicians will benefit from the easier-to-use technology of the Barrx 360 Express catheter, which provides a more precise delivery of RF energy to the targeted area."

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