Review of Hardware for PTCA

There is a growing inventory of dilatation hardware at the disposal of the interventional cardiologist. The purpose of this review is to compare the distinguishing features of current and anticiputed equipment which should be considered in the selection of hardware for performing corona y angioplasty (PTCA). New guiding catheters designed to improve “back-up” support for di#icult anatomic variants include the hockey stick, the El Gamal, the Arani, the FR 3.5 ALT, and the A L 0.75 and ALR 1.2 Amplatz models. New “micro” dilatation catheters include the Mini-Profile and Skinny catheters, which combine independent wire movement and low profile shajs (3.5 F), and the Probe, which is currently the catheter with the lowest profile shaft (1.7 F ) and balloon (0.020”for a 2.0-mm diameter balloon). The low profile of the Probe allows it to be used alongside a conventional 4.3 F dilatation catheter within the new 9 F Giant Lumen guiding catheter, which has an internal