A small stent opens the lifeline of the iliac vein

Inside the human body, the network of blood vessels is like an invisible river of life, responsible for transporting nutrients and oxygen to maintain the vitality of life.

The iliac vein is a vital section of the lower limb venous system. When it is under "heavy pressure", the "blood flow" is not smooth or even "broken", and people are prone to iliac vein compression syndrome, lower limb swelling, lower limb varicose veins and other symptoms. At this time, a special vascular stent can solve this problem.

"This stent is specially designed for iliac vein compression syndrome and can fully meet the clinical needs of vascular lesions at different stages." Zhao Zhong, chairman and CEO of Guichuangtongqiao Medical Technology Co., Ltd., told reporters that they have developed a stent that can help treat iliac vein compression syndrome and the vascular patency rate can reach 100%.

Iliac vein stent Photo provided by the interviewee

During the operation, implanting an iliac vein stent requires delicate manipulation. Diseased blood vessels are flatter and narrower than normal blood vessels. The "inflated" balloon first "opens" the blood vessels to provide space for the subsequent stent to enter. The contracted stent is then placed into the "opened" blood vessels like a small snake, and then quickly released to provide high support force, allowing the stent to maintain its predetermined shape and keep the blood vessels open.

"It looks simple, but the thickness of each person's blood vessels is different, and the conditions of the compressed blood vessels are also different. In the past, there were no stents specifically used for iliac vein compression syndrome, so other stents could only be used as substitutes, which often did not fit the blood vessel wall." Zhao Zhong said.

Zhao Zhong introduced that the iliac vein stent has an oblique design that conforms to the physiological and anatomical characteristics, and will not extend too far into the opposite blood vessel to avoid interfering with the contralateral blood flow. At the same time, it can not only change the thickness, but also the radial support force is gradual, which can resist the compression of the iliac artery and make the stent itself fit better. It is understood that this stent system specially used to treat iliac vein compression syndrome has provided medical support for nearly 100 patients after many iterations. "This number may reach 20,000 next year." Zhao Zhong said.

Zhao Zhong said that he returned to China to start a business 12 years ago. At that time, the domestic market share of medical devices was relatively low, and most of them were imported, so he decided to take his own innovative path. In this way, Zhao Zhong took seven years to go from innovative original design to industrialization.

Recalling the prototype of the bracket, Zhao Zhong said: "It all started with a napkin." Seven years ago, Zhao Zhong attended an academic conference and had a good chat with a professor during the break. He suddenly had an idea and drew the structure and technical features of the bracket on the napkin. The two were very excited about the product "draft".

Like this, Zhao Zhong and his team have produced many "treasures" through "flash of inspiration" and "vertical deep cultivation": the chronic vascular occlusion opening system is like a "tunnel tunneling machine" placed in the blood vessels, which can help blocked blood vessels to open up; the ultra-high pressure balloon is placed in the blood vessels, and after "inflation", it can expand the originally narrowed or blocked blood vessels...

Zhao Zhong (first from right) was selected as a "technological entrepreneur" in Zhejiang Province. Photo provided by the interviewee

On May 30 this year, the first batch of "technological entrepreneurs" in Zhejiang Province, selected by five units including the Zhejiang Association for Science and Technology and the Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce, was announced, and Zhao Zhong became one of them. Speaking of this, Zhao Zhong said, "I am very honored. It is not easy for scientific and technological personnel to become entrepreneurs." Medical devices require multidisciplinary integration, material design, technical processing, enterprise operation...all aspects must be considered, "Just good scientific research and strong research capabilities are not enough to make good medical devices." He is full of expectations for the future, "I hope to develop innovative, differentiated and high clinical value products to steadily promote and lead the development of China's medical device industry."

For most people, peripheral venous intervention may be a relatively unfamiliar term. However, venous diseases are actually very common. Varicose veins, deep vein thrombosis, and iliac vein compression syndrome are all common diseases around us.

Data shows that venous diseases account for half of vascular surgical diseases, with more than 100 million patients in China. Clinically, the incidence of venous diseases is about 6 times that of arterial diseases. Among the venous diseases with a patient base of hundreds of millions, iliac vein compression syndrome has attracted much attention. Zhao Zhong's team has developed a stent specifically for the treatment of this disease, which has helped nearly 100 patients return to health.

As Zhao Zhong said, the development of products in the field of intravenous intervention tests not only the ability to develop a single product, but also not just knowing the technology. It requires both innovation and design; both research and development and management. In the process of creating new productivity, "technological entrepreneurs" need to combine the transformation of scientific and technological innovation results with market demand, and shoulder the heavy responsibility of being explorers of scientific and technological innovation, leaders of industrial upgrading, and practitioners of social responsibility.