Visibility of Balloon Dilatation Catheters

In this study, an easy to use measurement method was developed to quantify the balloon dilatation catheters visibility, thus making them comparable. The visibility of the distal and proximal markers and the balloon (average values of the markers) was determined for fourteen balloons of the same type and material, but different lengths and diameters. Repeatability of these values was tested by one volunteer and reproducibility by two volunteers three times each for all the balloons used for the study. It was found that the average visibility for balloons was 12±2%, 13±2% for distal markers, and 13±2% for proximal markers. Values of distal and proximal markers did not represent significant difference (p=0.20). There was no significant difference determined for repeatability and reproducibility either (p values were between 0.71-0.93). Hence, the developed measurement method was repeatable and reproducible making it suitable for comparison of the balloon dilatation catheters based on visibility.