Poor Physician Understanding of Drug-Coated-Balloon Mechanics Affects Perceived Effectiveness and Limits Adoption in Peripheral Vascular Treatment

TORONTO, Sept. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, physicians who use drug-coated balloons (DCB), also known as drug-eluting balloons (DEB), to treat peripheral artery disease, particularly in the lower extremities, lack awareness of some aspects of DCB function, which limits perceived effectiveness and inhibits wider adoption of these devices.

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For example, predilation is considered to have an important influence on DCB procedure efficacy. If the vessel is not predilated, some of the drug will be lost upon delivery to the lesion site. MRG's survey, however, shows vascular surgeons predilate in fewer than half of the lesions they treat with DCB. Of the total number of physicians surveyed, 10 percent never predilate at all. This modest use of predilation may result in poorer clinical outcomes, and thus influence physician perception of the efficacy of DCB treatment.

Physician opinions differed significantly on how long it takes a drug to diffuse through an artery wall, and how long the drug would remain in the deeper cell layers of the vessel wall. Knowledge of the actual speed and duration was limited. Both of these also affect their perceptions of the efficacy of a given device.

"There is clearly room for more robust clinical evidence and improved physician education on the mechanism of action for DCB," said Product Manager Stephanie LaBelle. "Manufacturers who are able to establish more clear evidence regarding the speed of drug diffusion and the duration of the drug in the vessel wall would boost physician confidence in DCB efficacy and increase adoption."

The results come from a new MRG report, The Use of Drug-Coated Balloons in Peripheral Vascular Interventions (Europe), part of its Physician Forum series. Physician Forum survey reports are produced in response to specific market events and trends that are expected to have significant effects on utilization and sales of medical devices. The survey report is now available.

The results are based on surveys that were conducted in June 2013 and included 200 physicians. Survey respondents were interventional cardiologists, interventional radiologists and vascular surgeons, with a total of 40 physicians each from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Millennium Research Group's The Use of Drug-Coated Balloons in Peripheral Vascular Interventions (Europe) survey report provides information about current and future clinical applications for DCBs as well as physician perceptions of the various DCB brands.

About Millennium Research Group
Millennium Research Group (www.MRG.net), a Decision Resources Group company (www.DecisionResourcesGroup.com), is the global authority on medical technology market intelligence and the leading provider of strategic information to the healthcare sector. The company provides specialized industry expertise through multiclient market research, ongoing Marketrack™ projects, customer loyalty tracking, facility-level procedure forecasting, and customized solutions.

About Decision Resources Group
Decision Resources Group is a cohesive portfolio of companies that offers best-in-class, high-value information, and insights on important sectors of the healthcare industry. Clients rely on this analysis and data to make informed decisions. Please visit Decision Resources Group at www.DecisionResourcesGroup.com.

All company, brand or product names contained in this document may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

SOURCE Millennium Research Group

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