FDA Approves New Device for Treatment of Brain Aneurysms

The FDA approved yesterday a new device for treating large brain aneurysms without invasive surgery. The Pipeline Embolization Device — a platinum and nickel-cobalt mesh tube that is threaded up to the brain through a leg artery — works by cutting blood flow to the aneurysm, reducing the chance of rupture.

Approval was based on a study of 108 patients between ages 21 and 75. One year after the device was implanted, 70% of aneurysms remained blocked off without stenosis of the artery.