Laser technique

Technical aspects of excimer laser PCI

Currently, there is only one ELCA system available for coronary application (CVX-300® ELCA™ system; Spectranetics Inc. [now Philips], Colorado Springs, CO, the beam orientation (Figure 1).

Various laser catheters/wires currently available for clinical use. A) Old-type concentric laser catheter. B) Optimally spaced, new-generation concentric laser catheter with a higher fibre concentration. C) 0.9 × 80 mm laser catheter. D) Eccentric catheter. E) Prima laser wire. The 3S rule for excimer laser coronary angioplasty represents size, slow, saline.

Furthermore, they may vary in size: for the concentric catheter, the sizes are 0.9, 1.4, 1.7 and 2 mm, while for the eccentric catheter the sizes are 1.7 and 2 mm. Finally, energy production may vary according to laser catheter: the smaller 0.9 mm catheter is also the most powerful catheter as it may produce a beam of 80 mJ/mm² /80 Hz. Energy and repetition rate may be varied by the operators and increasing energy is usually able to obtain greater debulking if the catheter size is not changed. Laser catheters are available as over-the-wire or rapid exchange devices and consist of different amounts of 50...