Medtronic launches Barrx 360 Express RFA balloon catheter

Medtronic announced this week that it has launched a new catheter for treating Barrett’s esophagus, a significant complication of gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Medtronic’s new Barrx 360 Express radiofrequency ablation (RFA) balloon catheter allows gastroenterologists and surgeons to treat patients “more easily and efficiently,” the company said.

“In reducing the progression of dysplastic Barrett's esophagus to esophageal cancer, the launch of the Barrx 360 Express RFA balloon catheter underscores our commitment to patients,” Vafa Jamali, president of early technologies business in the Medtronic Minimally Invasive Therapies Group, said in a prepared statement. “We believe patients and physicians will benefit from the easier-to-use technology of the Barrx 360 Express catheter, which provides a more precise delivery of RF energy to the targeted area.”

Anthony Infantolino, MD, of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, praised the catheter’s new features.

“The biggest advantage of the Barrx 360 Express catheter is that it's easier to use because of the larger, longer and adjustable balloon size,” Infantolino said in the Medtronic statement. “These new features provide for a reduction in surgery time and the number of catheters required during RFA procedures, allowing me to concentrate on increasing the quality of the procedure.”