Photo courtesy SMH: Dr. Jason Wagner

An experimental treatment for an endovascular condition will be tested at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. The local institution will assess the safety and effectiveness of using the Indigo Aspiration System to treat deep vein thrombosis.

That’s a new Computer Assisted Vacuum Thrombectomy system, a catheter-based process to speed up the detection of blood clots and then remove them using an aspiration pump. The hope is to both find and extract the clots in a single session without the use of clot-dissolving medication or performing open surgery.

“DVTs can pose significant risks, including fatal complications such as pulmonary embolism, if left untreated,” said Dr. Jason Wagner, a vascular surgeon heading up Penumbra’s multicenter BOLT study at SMH. “Advances like Penumbra’s Indigo Aspiration System provide another way to address and remove dangerous clots through CAVT before they can trigger a life-threatening event.”

Deep vein thrombosis can result in deadly pulmonary embolism. The condition kills some 300,000 people across the U.S. each year. But some of the first lives saved from the fate could receive treatment at SMH. 

The hospital will be one of 40 research sites testing the treatment on patients. Officials encourage local patients experiencing their first instanced of unilateral lower extremity deep vein thrombosis and who are symptomatic for at least two weeks, to call SMH’s Research Institute at (941) 917-2225. The research center conducts tests for a number of medical treatments, including for including cardiology, infectious disease, gastroenterology, neurology, oncology, pulmonology, urology and vascular conditions.

The Food and Drug Administration also has a clinical trial website set up.

Photo courtesy SMH: Dr. Jason Wagner