A Peek into the Future

Abstract

Extruded polymer tubing has been used in cutting-edge medical devices and applications for more than 50 years. The first percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) was performed in 1964 on a blocked artery in the leg of an 82-year-old woman. Since then, there has been a paradigm shift in patient treatment—an evolution from surgical-based procedures to minimally invasive, catheter-based treatment and associated medical device design.