11.   Stents represent an alternative to balloon angioplasty because they remain open in the artery after the balloon catheter is inflated to dislodge the plaque build-up.

12.   The FDA approval makes Guidant the only company to manufacture balloon dilatation catheters for use during in post-attack treatment.

13.   The majority worked with their hands to assemble surgical devices such as balloon catheters, stents and guidewires.

14.   Then he is to place a balloon catheter into the area where the artery narrows.

15.   Balloon catheters clear coronary blockages and deliver stents, tiny metal tubes that keep the passages open.

16.   The PercuSurge device includes both a balloon catheter and a second tube called an aspiration catheter, which uses suction to prevent the debris from getting into the bloodstream.

17.   The suits involved patents related to coronary stent delivery systems and balloon dilation catheters, which both companies manufacture.

18.   To keep the vessel open, doctors often add a stent to the end of the balloon catheter.