Drug-Coated Balloons & Stents: What Drives Performance?

There are several critical factors to performance in drug-coated balloons: how effectively the drug reaches the vessel wall, how long it stays there, and when additional vessel support is needed.

In this episode of MedTech Unboxed, Steve talks with Maciej Kusmierczuk, Head of Development Balloon Catheters and Stents at InnoRa GmbH, about the science and engineering behind drug-coated balloons, stents, and emerging scaffold technologies.

They explore InnoRa’s work with paclitaxel and sirolimus coatings, including a high-performance, double-dose drug-coated balloon designed to deliver more drug to the vessel wall and help it remain there longer in complex cases.

Maciej unpacks why drug dose is only one part of performance.

Coating technology, balloon design, material, inflation pressure, and how effectively the drug transfers to the vessel wall can all influence the final result. He also shares the important role of stents when balloon treatment can’t provide enough mechanical support alone.

See how drug-coated balloons, stents, and emerging scaffold technologies can work together to address different vascular treatment needs.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Why drug dose alone doesn’t determine drug-coated balloon performance
• How InnoRa is exploring double-dose drug-coated balloons for more complex vascular lesions
• How coating technology and balloon design influence drug delivery to the vessel wall
• Key differences between paclitaxel and sirolimus technologies
• How balloon compliance, material, and inflation pressure can affect coating performance
• Why scoring and other complex balloon platforms add new coating challenges
• Where stents remain important when mechanical support is needed
• What new drug combinations and bioresorbable scaffolds could mean for the future of vascular treatment