Studies of microwave thermal balloon angioplasty in rabbits

A study of the technique of microwave (2.45 GHz) thermal balloon angioplasty has established a correlation between recorded temperature and observed injury. In addition, a trend pointing toward an inverse relationship between intimal proliferation and medial injury has been observed. Angioplasty was performed on 30 normal New Zealand white rabbits, providing 60 iliac arteries for histopathologic analysis. The angioplasty catheter consists of a 3.0-mm angioplasty balloon with an intrinsic thermocouple placed on the interior surface of the midportion of the balloon. A 0.023-in coaxial cable was used to deliver the microwave power, and a slot antenna configuration was chosen for the radiating element.<
>