NIBIB is developing a mechanical clot extraction system for stroke victims and those at risk. The device, made with a "shape memory polymer," is inserted in a vessel as a straight thin wire advancing through an obstruction. When heated inside the body with a laser illuminator, it reshapes into a coil and latches onto the clot, both of which are then removed, thereby restoring blood flow.
Duncan J. Maitland, Ph.D
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California
