This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Do you all think we need to direct some attention towards the makers of stents/angioplasty catheters to put some pressure (and encouragement!) on the manufactures to make some devices that work better in veins?

Since angioplasty has a very disappointing failure rate, and present stents have some serious risks when used in veins, do you think an increased demand from a bunch of placard-wielding (figuratively speaking, of course), insistent MSer's to create better treatment options for us might be in order?

What we know is that the color of money speaks to big pharma - I wonder if we focused some attention on the stent/catheter manufacturers it might encourage them to get to work creating longer lasting and safer solutions for us.

I'm trying to search the FDA database on devices to find stent and angioplasty catheter manufacturers and their contact info, but I'm having a problem in locating the right database. I don't know where to go from here to locate the actual manufacturers.

http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/default.htm

I wonder if we could spread the word about directing some global attention on this issue as well to get manufacturers working on this important part of our problem.

Eric-It's being addressed. The doctors involved are on it-
there are things we, as lay people, can do. Getting the research to the doctors is a good thing. Dealing with stent manufacturers is their thing....and they know what to do.
cheer

Awesome, cheer.

That's really good to hear! No reason to duplicate the wheel then...

Eric593, I am a patent lawyer who has been involved in the stent/angioplasty industry for 20 years. I assure you it is getting attention. In fact, I was told about CCSVI for the first time by a fellow patent lawyer who knows I have MS. He had been told about it by one of his clients who had an invention he was patenting in the area. He, of course wouldn't tell me what it was but I atrongly suspect it was a stent directed at veings, and perhaps CCSVI specifically.

Necessity is the mother of invention, all the stent companies are in constant and heated competition, and they are always working on new products. As soon as there is a need for the stent it will be designed, I assure you. In fact, thew stent manufacturers are likely to be very important in proving that such stents work. The manufacturer who wants to sell the stent is typically who funds the clinical study of the stent.

If we create a demand for CCSVI treatment, stents will be designed.

You asked who the manufactures are. The big boys are Boston Scientific,
Guiddant, Medtronic, Abbot, to name a few.

Sounds encouraging, Fogdweller!

That's really good to hear, fogdweller!

Thanks for the info!