Development of Detachable Platinum Coil Technology
With the emergence of microcatheter and micro-coil
technologies during the late 1980s, physician-inventor
Guido Guglielmi, M.D. saw the potential for the endovascular
deployment of micro-coils in brain aneurysms. Within
two years, this pioneer helped develop the first detachable
platinum coil, called the Guglielmi Detachable Coil,
more commonly referred to as the GDC® Coil.
The FDA approved an Investigational Device Exemption
in 1991 for the GDC Coil and clinical trials began.
In 1995, the FDA cleared the GDC Coil for commercial
sale in the United States, and the GDC Coil has been
commercially available in Europe since 1992.
Today more than 140 GDC Coils are available in a wide
range of sizes in different delivery platforms to accommodate
case-by-case variation. GDC Coils have been selected
by physicians around the world to treat more than 125,000
patients.
What is a detachable platinum coil?
Detachable platinum coils are used to occlude (fill)
intracranial aneurysms, significantly reducing the incidence
of aneurysm rupture or re-rupture. The coils are made
of platinum so that they can be visible via X-ray and
be flexible enough to conform to the aneurysm shape.
The coil is attached to a delivery wire and fed through
a microcatheter into the aneurysm. The delivery wire
allows the physician to reposition or withdraw the coil
to ensure ideal placement. Once properly positioned
within the aneurysm, the coil is detached from the delivery
wire using an electrolytic detachment process.
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