Under Pressure: Comparison of Aspiration Techniques for Endovascular Mechanical Thrombectomy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Blood flow should be interrupted during mechanical thrombectomy to prevent embolization of clot fragments. The purpose of our study was to provide a handy overview of the most common aspiration devices and to quantify their flow characteristics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We assessed volumetric flow rates generated by a 60-mL VacLok vacuum pressure syringe, a Pump MAX aspiration pump, and a Dominant Flex suction pump connected to the following: 1) an 8F long sheath, 2) an 8F balloon-guide catheter, 3) an ACE 64 distal aspiration catheter, and 4) an AXS Catalyst 6 Distal Access Catheter. We used a water/glycerol solution, which was kept at a constant temperature of 20°C (…