Characterization of thrombus stiffening in radio frequency (rf Mechanical thrombectomy

Abstract

Intra-arterial mechanical thrombectomy (IAMT) for ischemic stroke has high recanalization rate, long treatment time window and low risk of symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage (sICH), but thrombus fragments produced during treatment can lead to distal embolization. Fragmentation can be reduced if the thrombus is strengthened by increasing the thrombus's crosslink density. Radio frequency (rf) electric current commonly used in surgery to cut and coagulate tissue can induce crosslinking in thrombus. The increase in thrombus stiffness as a result of the increase in crosslinking from rf treatment is characterized in this study. Test results showed that the stiffness of thrombus is increased by more than 8 times after rf treatment. The dramatic increase in stiffness suggests that thrombus fragmentation and distal embolization can be reduced by applying rf during thrombectomy treatment.

Novel Blood Clot Retriever for Ischemic Stroke

“…Therapy with rt-PA also increases the chance of bleeding complications; therefore, the clinical effect of intracranial artery occlusion requires further evaluation [ 4 ]. One study even shows that only 10% of ischemic stroke patients are eligible for thrombolysis treatments due to the hemorrhage risk and time constraints [ 5 ].…”