Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) said today it launched its LithoVue Empower retrieval deployment device designed to be used with the LithoVue single-use digital flexible ureteroscope during ureteroscopic kidney stone retrieval procedures.
The Marlborough, Mass.-based company said that the LithoVue Empower is intended to turn a two-person stone basketing procedure into a single-person procedure, allowing urologists to operate a ureteroscope and basket simultaneously during the procedure.
The newly launched device is one of several new devices Boston Scientific said it plans to release to address “unmet needs and inefficiencies during stone procedures.”
“The LithoVue Empower Device was developed in direct response to a need to improve procedural bottlenecks during kidney stone removal procedures. We are committed to identifying and addressing unmet needs to enable healthcare providers to advance patient outcomes, reduce procedural costs, enhance quality of care and evolve the treatment of urologic and pelvic conditions,” Boston Scientific medsurg prez David Pierce said in a press release.
The company said that it recently presented a poster at the World Congress of Endourology demonstrating a single-surgeon procedure using the device, touting improved task completion time as compared with a two-surgeon procedure.
“The LithoVue Empower Device is a unique tool that can improve ureteroscopic stone treatment as it puts the process of stone manipulation entirely into the hands of the surgeon. Ultimately, the LithoVue Empower device introduces a novel efficiency into ureteroscopic stone surgery, as it makes it simpler for the urologist to pick up and move a stone – a historic source of frustration for this procedure,” presenting poster author Dr. Brian Matlaga of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions said in a prepared statement.
Earlier this month, Boston Scientific touted results from a European study of the Acurate Neo2 replacement heart valve it acquired along with Symetis last year.
