WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- An experimental dissolvable heart stent is safe and working for patients in an early human clinical trial, Abbott Laboratories told a U.S. medical conference.
The "bioabsorbable" stent is designed to be "fully absorbed and slowly metabolized by the coronary artery," the company told participants at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics conference in Washington, D.C.
The North Chicago, Ill., medical products giant said it hoped the drug-coated stent, inserted after angioplasty to keep blocked arteries open, evolves into the next generation of medical devices for opening clogged pathways to the heart, The Chicago Tribune reported.
The goal of the new stent is to leave behind a healed blood vessel after the stent is absorbed, Abbott said.
The company said more studies were needed before the stent would be made generally available, but doctors said a non-metallic stent could be important because existing devices can clutter or cloud pictures of hearts being diagnosed, and sometimes lead to blood clots.
