First-in-Human Evaluation of the Safety and Efficacy of a Novel Stent Positioning Assistance System for Precise Positioning of Coronary Stents

Objectives. This study was planned for evaluating the safety and efficacy of SPAS (stent positioning assistance system) device in first-in-human procedures. Background. SPAS is a novel device that can be used for improved positioning of coronary stents. Methods. Consecutive patients underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with the SPAS device. Device-related adverse and serious adverse events were evaluated in addition to a dedicated questionnaire completed by operators immediately after using SPAS. Results. The SPAS device was deployed in 55 PCI procedures, comprising of heavily calcified lesions (33.3%), totally occluded (7.4%), and severely tortuous vessels (7.4%). In these procedures, nonbifurcation and nonostial (53.7%), bifurcation (22.2%), and edge-to-edge (24.1%) stenting techniques were employed. Analysis of the pooled scores for the five satisfaction-related questions gave an average score of 5.6 +/- 1.5, with 40 (75.5%) operators providing an average satisfaction grade of >5; the average operator-rated SPAS device accuracy performance scores exceeded 6 out of 7 (on visual analog score). The time spent for positioning the stent with the SPAS device averaged 41 +/- 68.0 seconds. The SPAS device was rated as easy to use (6.1 +/- 1.6) and reliable (6.1 +/- 1.7). No device-related adverse events were reported. Conclusion. This stent positioning device was evaluated in a consecutive cohort of standard and complex PCI procedures. The device was shown to be safe, easy, and precise to use, both in standard and complex cases.